Primenet Tips & Help
Updated 10/10/97

Most people get Primenet or the Primenet test challenge up and running quickly, but occasionally, subtle things can cause it to fail, or sometimes Prime95 seems to be running but it does not appear to be working correctly.

Please check the list of fixed problem symptoms, and if your problem is listed, you should download and update your software with the latest build. Usually this simply involves stopping the software, replacing the files, and restarting it. Any other actions are described with the appropriate problem resolution, below.

Feel free to contact me via e-mail for help, and tell me what you notice is not right. It's best if you can also tell me the software build date and include your Prime95.ini and Primenet.ini files. Suggestions, runtime problems & ideas are also welcome - all e-mails receive replies.

- Scott
kurowski@entropia.com

Primenet Parallel Test Challenge

The Prime95 test programs are working great! Several times daily the Internet Prime Server assigns and collects results from Prime95 test programs all over the world!

There are a few, however, that are running older versions of the primenet.dll software that have since been found to contain problems fixed in the latest version of the software.

Please check the fixed problems list, below, for more information on upgrading your primenet.dll file and sending in outstanding test results.

Anything helpful you send me will be added here if not directly integrated into the installation and configuration instructions. Much of this material is assembled from problems and resolutions learned to remedy them. It's like a bug list and functional constraints list I put together from several people using Primenet for parallel tests of up to 17 clients. Most Primenet users started around 2 or 3 clients and a server (maybe one on the server itself), ensured it was working, and then added more clients - to about 16.

If you e-mail a question or a problem report, please include the build version of Primenet you are using.

Known or Fixed Software Problems

• Prime95 crashes immediately after getting a new test assignment (the primenet.bin file appears) and reports an illegal instruction exception occurred.
  
  The Primenet Parallel Test Challenge default configuration before 10/11/97 set the current CPU as a Pentium Pro. The Prime95 factoring code uses CPU instructions on Pentium Pro and Pentium II that do not exist on Pentium CPUs, and causes Prime95 to crash.
  
  To correct this, simply edit Prime95.ini (in the WinNT/95 system folder) and change CPUType=6 to CPUType=5.
  
• Problems Fixed in Parallel Test Challenge 2.6 Build 9/21/97
  
  If your readme.txt file shows any of the following versions of the Primenet Parallel Test Challenge, please download the 9/21/97 updated pn_chal0.zip, close Prime95, replace primenet.dll with the new version and restart Prime95:
  
  
  • 2.6 Build 9/4/97 (and earlier) bug: If the Microsoft Connection Manager or Dial-up Networking initated a dial-up network connection for Prime95, and then the user at the keyboard cancelled the operation, Prime95 would hang indefinitely. After this Prime95 would need to be forcefully terminated and restarted.
    
    
  • 2.6 Build 9/4/97 (and earlier) bug: Certain Windows NT domain security configurations blocked the Primenet RPC connection from completing, causing Prime95 to remain idle indefinitely.
    
    In addition to this fix, ensure you use SecurityLevel=1 in the Prime Server's primenet.ini file when accessing the Prime Server from within a different NT domain.
    
    
  • 2.6 Build 9/4/97 (and earlier) bug: Some Windows 95 and Windows 98 machines could not complete the Primenet RPC connection due to NT security functions not used on these platforms, causing Prime95 to remain idle indefinitely.
    
    In addition to this fix, ensure you use SecurityLevel=1 in the Prime Server's primenet.ini file.
    
    
• Problems Fixed in Parallel Test Challenge 2.6 Build 8/29/97:3
  
  
  • Parallel Test Challenge 2.6 Build 8/28/97, 8/29/97 (and earlier) bug: Prime95 non-factoring test clients are incorrectly reported at the Prime Server as factoring clients when reporting results on the second and later tested exponents per run.
    
    This is a harmless problem for Prime95 test clients, however the primenet.dll should be updated. If your readme.txt file shows this version of the Primenet Parallel Test Challenge, please download the 9/21/97 updated pn_chal0.zip, close Prime95, replace primenet.dll with the new version and restart Prime95.
    
    The Prime95.ini file should also be moved to the system area, c:\winnt,c:\windows, etc.
    
    
  • Parallel Test Challenge 2.6 Build 8/11/97 bug: Prime95 test results fail to despool to server for some test clients, causing the primenet.spl file to grow very large... it should never exceed about 25k in size.
    
    If your readme.txt file shows this version of the Primenet Parallel Test Challenge, please download the 9/21/97 updated pn_chal0.zip, close Prime95, delete the primenet.spl file (if there is one), replace primenet.dll with the new version and restart Prime95. Then please e-mail the results or results.txt file created by Prime95 to me so I can reconcile the Internet Prime Server's database.
    
    The Prime95.ini file should also be moved to the system area, c:\winnt,c:\windows, etc.
    
    Testing of the 8/11/97 was cut short by my vacation schedule (sorry!).
    
    

• Problems Fixed in Primenet 2.6 Build 9/20/97
  
  
  • 2.6 Build 9/4/97 (and earlier) bug: If the Microsoft Connection Manager or Dial-up Networking initated a dial-up network connection for Prime95, and then the user at the keyboard cancelled the operation, Prime95 would hang indefinitely. After this Prime95 would need to be forcefully terminated and restarted.
    
    
  • 2.6 Build 9/4/97 (and earlier) bug: Certain Windows NT domain security configurations blocked the Primenet RPC connection from completing, causing Prime95 to remain idle indefinitely.
    
    In addition to this fix, ensure you use SecurityLevel=1 in the Prime Server's primenet.ini file when accessing the Prime Server from within a different NT domain.
    
    
  • 2.6 Build 9/4/97 (and earlier) bug: Some Windows 95 and Windows 98 machines could not complete the Primenet RPC connection due to NT security functions not used on these platforms, causing Prime95 to remain idle indefinitely.
    
    In addition to this fix, ensure you use SecurityLevel=1 in the Prime Server's primenet.ini file.
    
    
  • 2.6 Build 9/4/97 (and earlier): Prime Server only - The OnlyFindFactors=61 value had to be set in Prime95.ini to receive factoring assignments.
    
    This value can now be any non-zero value to receive factoring assignments. Existing Prime95 clients with OnlyFindFactors set to 61 need not change this setting.
    
    
• Problems Fixed in Primenet 2.6 Build 8/29/97:3
  
  
  • 2.6 Build 8/28/97, 8/29/97 (and earlier) bug: Prime95 non-factoring test clients are incorrectly reported at the Prime Server as factoring clients when reporting results on the second and later tested exponents per run.
    
    This is a harmless problem for Prime95 test clients, however server administration becomes inaccurate unless the AllowBlindCheckins=1 value is set in the Prime Server's primenet.ini file.
    
    
  • 2.6 Build 8/27/97 bug: Prime Server fails to consistently respond to results messages.
    
    
  • 2.6 Build 8/13/97 bug: Prime Server sometimes logs random garbage characters before or after results messages.
    
    
  • 2.6 Build 8/13/97 bug: After installing and starting the Prime Server for the first time, you see the following messages in the Primesvc.log file (with different dates and times, of course):
    
    1997/08/26 17:19:01 (server) Checking database consistency
    1997/08/26 17:19:01 (server) Consistency check failed to open database!
    
    
• Problems Fixed in Primenet 2.6 Build 8/13/97
  
  
  • Build 7/25/97 bug: The database.bin database can be left in an inconsistent state if Prime Server is forcefully terminated during the GetNextExponent(p,bits) transaction of the last exponent in the current assignment range. When Prime Server is restarted and receives the next client request, it will scan the database for a new assignment, indefinitely.
    
    This is fixed in Primenet build 8/13/97, now available with several new features. Upon startup, the Prime Server will rollback any incomplete transactions, and will also detect a database inconsistency and set a timer for 4 seconds later, and rollback outstanding transactions.
    
    
  • 2.6 Build 7/25/97 bug: Factoring clients could not specify their maximum factoring capability in bits to avoid being reassigned an exponent it or another client already trial-factored.
    
    This is fixed in build 8/13/97. Factoring clients must set OnlyFindFactors=61 in the Prime95.ini file so Prime Server knows to assign exponents less factored than 61 bits.
    
    
  • 2.6 Build 7/25/97 bug: The primenet.spl file may grow very large if the Prime Server connection is not made for an extended period of hours or days when there are results to send.
    
    This is fixed in build 8/13/97 and in the current downloadable build of the Parallel Test Challenge.
    
    If you experience this problem, please delete your primenet.spl file and e-mail your results or results.txt file to kurowski@entropia.com, so I can check in any test results the primenet.spl file failed to despool to the Prime Server.
    
    
• 2.6 Build 7/15/97 bugs, fixed in build 7/25/97
  
  • Automatic timeouts of overdue assignments happened too soon
  • Database merge failed to preserve factoring progress to date
  • Prime95 sometimes repeated last assignment indefinitely or stopped
    
    
• 2.6 Build 7/01/97 bugfix: Made impossible to pop wrong exponent off primenet's assignment stack
  
  
• 2.6 build 6/5/97, 6/20/97: bugs... don't use these builds.
  
  • the last assignment of a CheckoutCount > 1 client is repeated
    
  • an obsolete entry, EnableFactoring=1, was required in Primenet.ini under [PrimeSvc] to enable factoring client support - this is no longer used after build 6/5/97
    
  • results are not consistently handled at the server for check-ins

Primenet Network Operating Tips

• 2.6 Build 8/29/97: Symptom is 'Cannot connect to server, error = 2250'. NT security authentication was added to primenet.dll. Use SecurityLevel=0 or SecurityLevel=1 in Prime95.ini when Prime95 needs to cross NT domains to reach the Prime Server. The cross-domain NT RPC security settings are (a) RPC_C_AUTHN_LEVEL_DEFAULT , SecurityLevel=0, and (b) RPC_C_AUTHN_LEVEL_NONE, SecurityLevel=1. Higher values require NT userid security settings.
  
  
• If Prime95 appears to hang doing nothing, try running Primecom.exe -p from the same directory were Prime95.exe is kept.
  
  If you get Error 5 (access denied) check to see if the primenet.dll file is there, too. If yes, your userid entries are either invalid or the machine is not allowed to access the remote system.
  
  If you get Error 2550 (network unavailable) check the server address and protocol settings.
  
  
• Put a copy of primecom.exe in each Prime95 client's directory, with primenet.dll. If the client appears to be inactive, ping the Prime Server using 'primecom -p' in the DOS-like console, from that directory. If it works, then double check the userid/password settings in the primenet server and client INI files. A working ping means the server address and protocol bindings are correct.
  
  If you kept a specific userid reserved for the Primenet admin, then no primecom.exe client can issue admin commands to the server - unless they share the admin ID.
  
  
• If you forget to put primenet.ini in %systemroot% on a client running the WinNT service version of Prime95 client (NTPrime), when stopping the service it fails with an error 2182 on NT4.0; then it shows in control panel as not running but can neither be stopped nor started. After putting primenet.ini in %systemroot% and a reboot all is fine.
  
  
• If you are using the WinNT service version of Prime95 you may need to configure a userid with permissions in the Service Control Manager applet for it.
  
  
• Do NOT use UNICODE characters in the .INI configuration files. Symptoms: the Prime Server logs in Primesvc.log that the range 0..0 is exhausted yet the Primenet.ini file is configured with a valid range. This appears to sometimes hang NT 3.51 processes and sometimes the Taskmgr.exe in NT3.51 fails to kill a process. Either Pview.exe or Kill.exe from the resource kit generally succeeds in these cases.
  
  If non-ASCII characters are required by someone we can start using the appropriate libraries (just ask).
  
  
• Advanced users can use the primecom.exe test commands -x and -q to send results strings and checkout exponents as a client instead of using the -o command. Use 'primecom -x "M12345 is not prime and I sent this"' (for example - make sure you use double quotes) to send a message the server receives as if you were a client reporting results. Use 'primecom -q' to check out an exponent (or a group of them if CheckoutCount is greater than 1 in the Prime95.ini file).
  
  
• A workaround to redoing 'lost exponents' without using the new Primenet exponent check-in feature is to use a client to force test of such a lost exponent using the Prime95 Advanced menu. Once the pxxxxxxx file is saved, it can be dragged and dropped into another client's directory and will be completed by that client when it gets done with lower started exponents.
  
  
• NT network services and bindings: Having RPC (locator and service) is ok. IPX/SPX and DLC are definitely not needed, nor is binding between any of Netbios, server, or workstation to Wins client. DHCP assigned IP addresses are safe for client machines.
  
  
• When getting permission to use someone else's NT network resources some example conditions to propose:
  • very low network traffic - only a few network packets per week for each client
  • minimum storage on the client system hard disk
  • minimum (idle) priority will not slow user applications, quiet not distract the user
  • the end user of the box has control of whether it was installed, and has control on the desktop of the applet if they wanted control
  • install it as an NT service if that's more convenient for the user (of course they might set their screen saver on and compete for CPU cycles because the PrimeNT service is hidden)
    
    
• Updating Primenet versions that have changes in the RPC interfaces (2.4 to 2.6, 4/21/97 to 2.4 5/5/97 or 4/18/97 to 4/21/97) can hang client Prime95.exe indefinitely when it trys to report results to Prime Server if the Prime95 client is running the earlier build of the primenet.dll and the primesvc.exe server was upgraded.
  
  Stopping Prime95.exe and replacing the primenet.dll will correct this from repeating, but you will need to manually merge the client's results into the Prime Server results.net file using (risky because you shouldn't need it) command 'primecom.exe -x "message"' option, where "message" is the results line from the stopped Prime95 results file in double quotes.
  
  2.4 4/21/97 and earlier builds: Note that while this bug is caused by an interface incompatibility between Primenet RPC versions the same problem happens if the network is down for any reason and Prime95 dies or is terminated.
  
  

• 2.4 4/21/97 build: using 'primecom.exe -o exponent' manually checks out the next assignment exponent instead of the specified one.
  
  
• 2.4 4/21/97 and earlier builds: manual check-ins of exponents using 'primecom.exe -i exponent' and clearing of tested exponents upon completion overwrote the bits factored field in the database with zeros.

~ HOME ! PARALLEL TEST CHALLENGE @ INSTALLATION # ADMIN GUIDE $ TIPS & HELP %