| GCP (EGG) Software |
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This page provides information on the requirements and
the software used for the data collection network.
However, we are still open to adding egg hosts in remote areas with little coverage. But let me know if you are interested in hosting, in case we continue to enlarge the network. To host an "egg", which is our working name for an outlying data generation site for the Global Consciousness Project network, you need a specific type of hardware random event generator which we can supply, and the egg-site software. The software requires a computer running linux or some flavor of the unix operating system, (as of November 2000, Windows NT/2000/XP. Win 95/98 can be used, but require extra time synchronization software.) The computer must be connected by modem or ethernet to the internet. It is preferable to provide a static (permanent) IP address. We can accomodate dynamic IP addresses with success if one or more of the parts stay constant. Some ISPs change even the main network of your dynamic IP address, which is more difficult to deal with. A new package has been created to keep a dynamic IP in a single network range. It is called iDDu-svc and is an intelligent DynDNS updater NT service. The author is Echorunner (eeckart@gmail.com) It is still in beta form, but worth trying if you connect via a router on LAN with remote web-administration access. The latest version of the library can be obtained from: here. Please read the readme.txt to see if it looks like it might work for you, and before attempting to set up the service. The computer must run continuously, and it is desirable to have a continuous connection to the internet; if a dialup is used it must be automated to connect at least once per day for a total of 15 to 20 minutes per day. The computer clock must be synchronized to the correct time by an automatic process to keep the data from all eggs properly time-stamped. The program
you will run is called eggsh in Linux and egg.exe in Windows.
It is designed to keep a proper pace without taking priority CPU time,
and there should be no trouble or competition with other use of your
machine, including light or moderate webservice. It is necessary
for your machine to be running the NTP software or
some other program to keep its clock synchronized with a stable time source.
The configuration involves accurate time synchronization, for
which we need correct timezone
information for your host site as well.
We also
need your geographic location, which you can
find with acceptable accuracy using this
locator site.
If the EGG computer is behind a firewall,
it must be programmed to forward UDP packets on port 2510 outgoing
and port 1105 incoming. This allows the bidirectional
communication required for the data to be transmitted. What
happens is that your program sends an "awake" packet when it
has unsent data. The server in Princeton responds with a "data
request" packet, and then the EGG program will send the data.
Three REG devices are available. (actually only the Orion is available in 2005). They all plug into a serial port. One (ORION) is designed for a 25 pin serial port, or with an adaptor will plug into a 9 pin; the others (PEAR PortREG, Mindsong) plug directly into a 9 pin port. Be sure to send your postal mailing address for shipping the REG if you plan to become a host.
Read
the README for a little more information.
The GCP software is Free Software, under the terms of the
GNU General Public License.
You can write to Roger Nelson
with questions. If you are ready to get the software, you can request
further information.
Release 5.1
of the software is the current version for Linux operating systems,
and is required for any machines
that are not continuously connected to the internet.
The program you need is "eggsh" and it comes in a
tarball called "eggware.tgz", which includes a
sample configuration file and a little instruction, as well
as a small test program called regtest.
For the most current model configuration file, see
.eggrc (and
also read the paragraph below on configuration).
The installation is described in
general instructions
intended to help hosts with the setup, internet connections, and
time synchronization.
A useful tool for linux users:
Doug Piercy developed some scripts
that monitor eggsh, and restart it if it is not running.
A version of the eggsh program that does not give any runtime feedback,
and so does not need a window, is available. This
can be used in situations where an automatic startup after a reboot is
necessary (compiled under RedHat 6.0; not thoroughly tested).
For those running Debian Linux, a new package with the GCP egg software
is included in Debian 2.2, and can be found
at www.debian.org.
If you have a different Linux or UNIX, you would need the source
package (eggsrc.tgz), including a Makefile, via the Release 5.1 link.
A larger package (eggsrcplus.tgz) has both source and different
compiled versions of the data collection software. A very simple testing
program that takes 200-bit trials in batches of 200, and displays them
and their mean value is included in
the packages.
A program ported for Windows NT and
Windows 2000 is now available. The port is by Paul Bethke, and
is running successfully on both platforms, and on Windows XP.
It appears to work on Windows 95 and 98 as well.
The program, called Egg.exe can obtained by arrangement with Roger Nelson.
As noted, however, we are not adding many sites to the network.
A set of instructions to get you up and running should be requested at
the same time.
For a program to keep your clock synchronized in Win 95 or 98, you can try
AtomTime98 or
Dimension 4.
(A built-in timekeeper is included in newer versions of Windows).
If you need
more information, get in touch with
Roger Nelson.
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