Not if it is done once per work request.  If the file is downloaded and the
AV deletes it, then all tasks that are currently downloaded and using it
will fail.  These would be reported back to the server, and the qouta will
be reduced by that number.  A new set of tasks will be downloaded, along
with the executable.  The executable will be deleted, and all of those
tasks will fail.  They will be reported back to the server, reducing the
daily quota.  In fairly short order, the quota will be reduced to 1.

At the point that the daily quota is reduced to 1, the client will get 1
task, and 1 chance at downloading the executable / day.

This allows computers where BOINC is rarely re-started to be automatically
fixed by an AV update of the scan files that does not have th efalse
positive.

Downloading only on startup requires the user to do manual intervention to
fix the problem even if the AV should have automatically fixed it.

In either case, not downloading files that are not required by any task on
the machine is a good idea.

We now have a project that has a bad version of the software that will be
deleted by an AV product, that cannot inform the BOINC client not to
attempt to download it again.

I have been thinking about a possible method of determining whether do
delete an application.

I believe that there is a table that contains the current applications.  If
so, then the server, once per day does a union of the select unique of the
application name from the table that contains the current applications, and
a select unique of the applications of tasks that are currently assigned to
computers where the WU has not yet been validated, or the task is not past
deadline and has not been returned.  This list is then compared against the
list of applications returned by every client during its connection (yes, I
know we would have to add that).  The reply packet would then have the
difference added to a list of applications to delete.  Shared files would
have to be detected on the client and left alone if a current application
was using them.  This would allow the cleanup of applications from users
hard disks.

jm7


                                                                           
             David Anderson                                                
             <da...@ssl.berkel                                             
             ey.edu>                                                    To 
                                       john.mcl...@sybase.com              
             09/29/2009 02:20                                           cc 
             PM                        boinc_dev@ssl.berkeley.edu          
                                                                   Subject 
                                       Re: [boinc_dev] Why did BOINC       
                                       contact Prime Grid, and Why did it  
                                       DL  execuatables                    
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           
                                                                           




That proposal would lead to infinite downloading (see below)

john.mcl...@sybase.com wrote:
> The proposal is to download missing files only at startup or when new
tasks
> arrive needing the file, and ONLY do so if there is work that needs the
> file.  i.e. at startup, if there is a missing file, and no work for that
> file, do nothing.
>
> jm7
>
>
>

>              David Anderson

>              <da...@ssl.berkel

>              ey.edu>
To

>
>
> I'm not sure this will solve the problem.
> Seems to me the client will go into this loop:
>
> 1) get a job from the server
> 2) download the executable
> 3) anti-virus program deletes the executable
> 4) job bombs out because executable missing
> 5) go to 1
>
> As of right now, as far as I've heard,
> the client re-downloads the executable only on startup.
> That's better than the above.
>
> It's not clear to me what the solution is,
> or if we really need to do anything.
> Suggestions welcome.
>
> -- David




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