AutoPrimeNet - Quick Start Guide
AutoPrimeNet is used to get assignments from and report results to the GIMPS servers
for all Mersenne testing / factoring programs (other than Prime95/mprime). This includes
GpuOwL/
PRPLL (PRP testing),
mfaktc/
mfakto (trial factoring),
as well as
Mlucas,
CUDALucas and more.
The program is available as a standalone
autoprimenet.exe for Windows users, or
autoprimenet.py for any system that has Python installed.
Quick Start: Overview
Windows Users
- Download the
.exe version (64-bit or 32-bit), unzip to where
you have your GIMPS program (e.g. mfaktc or GpuOwl).
- Run
autoprimenet.exe (from Windows Terminal if possible, or just double-click if you're not
comfortable with command-line programs) and go through the setup wizard.
If you're not sure about any settings, see below for more details, or just hit <enter>⏎
to accept the default value.
- Once the setup wizard is complete, the window will close, double-click
primenet.exe again
and it will start up in monitoring mode and fetch work and submit results every hour.
- Start up your GIMPS program (mfaktc, GpuOwl, etc).
Tip for Windows users: RBTray is a small program that will allow you to minimize primenet.exe, mfaktc (or any program) to the system tray to reduce clutter on the task bar.
Linux/macOS Users
- Download autoprimenet.py
- Run
python3 autoprimenet.py --setup to run the setup wizard.
- Once the setup wizard is complete run
python3 autoprimenet.py and it will start up in
monitoring mode and fetch work and submit results every hour.
- Start up your GIMPS program (mfaktc, GpuOwl, etc).
Setup Wizard
The setup wizard will run automatically the first time the program is run, can be run again later by running with
--setup parameter.
The wizard will guide you through the required settings. Each question is presented in the form:
Setup question the wizard is asking ('<default value>'):
The default value will either be an auto-detected value (e.g. computer name), or the existing configured value if you're running the wizard a second time.
If the default value is appropriate, or you're not sure how to answer, simply hit
<enter>⏎ to accept the default. If you want to enter a different value, type it at the prompt and hit
<enter>⏎
The following sections show some of the specific options you should select in the setup wizard for different work types. Click the type of work you're interested in for detailed instructions:
Setup Wizard: mfaktc / mfakto (trial factoring)
Which GIMPS program are you getting assignments for (1=Mlucas, 2=GpuOwl, 3=PRPLL, 4=CUDALucas, 5=mfaktc, 6=mfakto) (1): 5
Depending if you have NVIDIA (mfaktc) or AMD (mfakto) you should select 5 (or 6).
Is this setup for the TF1G subproject on https://mersenne.ca/tf1G? This is mutually exclusive with PrimeNet trial factoring. (N):
This gives you the choice of working on normal GIMPS trial factoring, on exponents immediately ahead of P-1 and PRP testing, which is by far the most useful type of trial factoring work. There is also the option of doing TF work for exponents larger than 1000M but these won't be PRP for several decades so it's not recommended.
Which GPU are you using this GIMPS program with (0 to not report the GPU) (0): <#>
Just above this prompt you'll see a list of detected GPUs in your system. You may see several entries, you may see duplicate entries. If you have both a discrete video card and an iGPU built into your CPU they will both show up. Pick the GPU number matching which card you will be running on (if it shows up more than once pick the first one).
Type of work to get ('12'):
12 should be the default value for mfaktc/mfakto. It's also the only supported worktype.
Do you want to set the optional e-mail/text message notification settings? (requires providing an SMTP server) (N): Y
This is optional but highly recommended. If you have a Google account it is recommended to use the Gmail SMTP server for reliable delivery. You will need to start by creating an App Password for your Google account. Enter an app name at the Google prompt (e.g. "AutoPrimeNet") and Google will create and show you a 16-character password (grouped into 4 groups of 4 digits). You can either type the password directly into the Setup Wizard when prompted (without the spaces), or better yet copy-paste it into your text editor (e.g. Notepad) and remove the spaces, then re-copy it so you can paste it when prompted. Note that once you close the Google popup showing the app password you cannot retrieve it, in that case you would need to delete the app password and generate a new one.
SMTP server (hostname and optional port), e.g., 'mail.example.com:465': smtp.gmail.com
Use a secure connection with SSL/TLS? (Y):
From e-mail address, e.g., 'User <user@example.com>': <your.email>@gmail.com
Optional username for this account, e.g., 'user@example.com': <your.email>@gmail.com
Optional password for this account: <16-char App Password>
Tip: when prompted for the password you will not see any characters as you type. This is by design.
You can also copy the 16-character password (no spaces) from Notepad and paste it at the prompt (both Ctrl-V and right-click work for Paste in Windows), but again you will not see anything change on the screen until you hit <enter>⏎.
To e-mail address #1, e.g., 'User <user@example.com>' (leave blank to use the From e-mail address): <leave blank>
Leave blank to send to your own Gmail address. Optionally you can specify a different email address, you can even receive text message notifications by entering your mobile providers e-mail to SMS or MMS gateway if this service is available with your provider.
Send a test e-mail message? (Y):
If everything is configured correctly you should see a message:
INFO: Sending e-mail: 👋 Test from the AutoPrimeNet
and after a short pause should have the test email in your inbox. If there are errors sending the email they will show up in red text on the screen.
If you see questions about PRP, proofs, P-1 memory, Mersenne Primes, etc that are not applicable to mfaktc just skip the question by hitting <enter>⏎
Once you get to the end of the setup wizard the last prompt will be
Hit enter to continue:
and when you hit <enter>⏎ the setup program will exit.
Now restart autoprimenet.exe and it will fetch assignments for you. Then start up mfaktc and it will start working. AutoPrimeNet will check your results and assignments every hour and submit results and fetch new assignments as needed.
Setup Wizard: GpuOwL (PRP)
Which GIMPS program are you getting assignments for (1=Mlucas, 2=GpuOwl, 3=PRPLL, 4=CUDALucas, 5=mfaktc, 6=mfakto) (1): 2
Which GPU are you using this GIMPS program with (0 to not report the GPU) (0): <#>
Just above this prompt you'll see a list of detected GPUs in your system. You may see several entries, you may see duplicate entries. If you have both a discrete video card and an iGPU built into your CPU they will both show up. Pick the GPU number matching which card you will be running on (if it shows up more than once pick the first one).
Configured disk space limit per worker to store the proof interim residues files for PRP tests in GiB/worker (0 to not send) (0.0): 50
PRP requires a fair amount of temporary disk space to build the proof file (see table). More available disk space allows for higher proof powers which cut the proof verification time significantly. If you're extremely limited on disk space it can work with as little as 5-10GB, but at the expense of unnecessary extra proof verification time. If possible, set the disk space allocation to 50GB (or more, it will only use the space it needs).
Optional directory to archive PRP proof files after upload: <optional, usually leave blank>
PRP proof files are built from many gigabytes of temporary files (configured above) to a .proof file of a few hundred megabytes (see table). This file is then transmitted to PrimeNet and normally discarded. You can optionally specify a directory on your computer to save a copy of each completed .proof file if you wish, but it's normally not necessary.
Type of work to get ('150'):
150 should be the default value for GpuOwL, and means first-time PRP testing, where you have a chance of finding a Mersenne Prime. 152 is nearly identical except you will not be assigned any exponents smaller than the largest known Mersenne Prime (most of the time this is identical to 150).
153 is 100-million-digit primes which are exponents >332 192 810. The first Mersenne Prime discovery of this size will be eligible for a prize.
151 and 155 are both PRP double-checking worktypes but differ slightly: 151 will do a second PRP test to verify an early PRP test that was done prior to the proof system being implemented. 155 will double-check even older exponents that were first tested with LL but haven't received a matching LL double-check.
While P-1 factoring (4) is listed as an available worktype for GpuOwL this is only partly true. GpuOwL v7.x only handles the first stage of P-1, expecting the user to manually pass the resulting files off (and replicating worktodo) to Prime95 to handle stage 2 and result submission. This requires a lot of manual intervention and is not recommended for new users.
Do you want to set the optional e-mail/text message notification settings? (requires providing an SMTP server) (N): Y
This is optional but highly recommended. If you have a Google account it is recommended to use the Gmail SMTP server for reliable delivery. You will need to start by creating an App Password for your Google account. Enter an app name at the Google prompt (e.g. "AutoPrimeNet") and Google will create and show you a 16-character password (grouped into 4 groups of 4 digits). You can either type the password directly into the Setup Wizard when prompted (without the spaces), or better yet copy-paste it into your text editor (e.g. Notepad) and remove the spaces, then re-copy it so you can paste it when prompted. Note that once you close the Google popup showing the app password you cannot retrieve it, in that case you would need to delete the app password and generate a new one.
SMTP server (hostname and optional port), e.g., 'mail.example.com:465': smtp.gmail.com
Use a secure connection with SSL/TLS? (Y):
From e-mail address, e.g., 'User <user@example.com>': <your.email>@gmail.com
Optional username for this account, e.g., 'user@example.com': <your.email>@gmail.com
Optional password for this account: <16-char App Password>
Tip: when prompted for the password you will not see any characters as you type. This is by design.
You can also copy the 16-character password (no spaces) from Notepad and paste it at the prompt (both Ctrl-V and right-click work for Paste in Windows), but again you will not see anything change on the screen until you hit <enter>⏎.
To e-mail address #1, e.g., 'User <user@example.com>' (leave blank to use the From e-mail address): <leave blank>
Leave blank to send to your own Gmail address. Optionally you can specify a different email address, you can even receive text message notifications by entering your mobile providers e-mail to SMS or MMS gateway if this service is available with your provider.
Send a test e-mail message? (Y):
If everything is configured correctly you should see a message:
INFO: Sending e-mail: 👋 Test from the AutoPrimeNet
and after a short pause should have the test email in your inbox. If there are errors sending the email they will show up in red text on the screen.
Once you get to the end of the setup wizard the last prompt will be
Hit enter to continue:
and when you hit <enter>⏎ the setup program will exit.
Now restart autoprimenet.exe and it will fetch assignments for you. Then start up gpuowl and it will start working. AutoPrimeNet will check your results and assignments every hour and submit results and fetch new assignments as needed.