F@H on Debian without root.

[blub]

I'm allowed to run F@H at some University PCs, but i don't have an admin account, so is there a way to run FAH without it? Process priority must be the lowest possible, otherwise I get in trouble.

[Joe_H]

The default install for Linux has the FAHClient portion of F@H set up as a service running in the background and requires admin access to set that up. The other components communicate with the FAHClient process through the local network interface. In general, that has been considered consistent with the requirement for having permission to use F@H on a system. The default priority for F@H is the lowest, so it should give up CPU time to most other processes using a system.

You can probably run just the FAHClient portion from a command line shell and not need the admin access. That however is considered an advanced/expert method of using F@H and there is limited documentation and support available. There is a tarball release available of just the FAHClient portion, the link is near the bottom of the Beta Release Download page. You might still need admin access to install supporting libraries if they are not already present, someone with Debian experience would have to comment on that.

[bollix47]

Welcome to the folding@home support forum blub.

Without admin privileges you won't be able to actually install the various software associated with folding. However, there are tarballs for the client which you might be able to run from the command line in your home folder. There may be some dependency issues but it should just work.

[Napoleon]

First off, I'd recommend you get a written permission. Administration might change, and you could also get in trouble with new staff which may not be aware of any previous verbal "OK, go ahead."

If v7.3.6 tarballs won't work, you could also try older v6 uniprocessor/SMP console clients. They're plain drop-in executables, requiring no installation.

FAH runs at the lowest OS priority by default, so that shouldn't be a problem. However, steer clear of any GPU folding. It may cause more or less severe screen lag, and that could get you in trouble too.

Ideally, you'd want to run uni/SMP client as a service. However, that would require installation, meaning admin rights.