Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing

BOINC
Developer(s)University of California, Berkeley
Initial release10 April 2002; 22 years ago (2002-04-10)
Stable release
8.0.2 Windows
30 May 2024; 5 months ago (2024-05-30)

8.0.2 macOS
30 May 2024; 5 months ago (2024-05-30) 8.0.2 Linux
30 May 2024; 5 months ago (2024-05-30) 8.0.2 Android
30 May 2024; 5 months ago (2024-05-30)

Preview release
8.0.4 / 23 July 2024; 3 months ago (2024-07-23)
Repository
Written inC++ (client/server)
PHP (project CMS)
Java/Kotlin (Android client)
Operating systemWindows
macOS
Linux
Android
FreeBSD
Raspberry Pi OS
TypeGrid computing and volunteer computing
LicenseLGPL-3.0-or-later[1]
Project licensing varies
Websiteboinc.berkeley.edu
BOINC Manager Advanced View
BOINC Manager Advanced View

The Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing[2] (BOINC, pronounced /bɔɪŋk/ – rhymes with "oink"[3]) is an open-source middleware system for volunteer computing (a type of distributed computing).[4] Developed originally to support SETI@home,[5] it became the platform for many other applications in areas as diverse as medicine, molecular biology, mathematics, linguistics, climatology, environmental science, and astrophysics, among others.[6] The purpose of BOINC is to enable researchers to utilize processing resources of personal computers and other devices around the world.

BOINC development began with a group based at the Space Sciences Laboratory (SSL) at the University of California, Berkeley, and led by David P. Anderson, who also led SETI@home. As a high-performance volunteer computing platform, BOINC brings together 34,236 active participants employing 136,341 active computers (hosts) worldwide, processing daily on average 20.164 PetaFLOPS as of 16 November 2021[7] (it would be the 21st largest processing capability in the world compared with an individual supercomputer).[8] The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds BOINC through awards SCI/0221529,[9] SCI/0438443[10] and SCI/0721124.[11] Guinness World Records ranks BOINC as the largest computing grid in the world.[12]

BOINC code runs on various operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, macOS, Android,[13] Linux, and FreeBSD.[14] BOINC is free software released under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL).

  1. ^ "BOINC License". GitHub. Archived from the original on 2021-01-10. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  2. ^ Anderson, David P. (2020-03-01). "BOINC: A Platform for Volunteer Computing". Journal of Grid Computing. 18 (1): 99–122. arXiv:1903.01699. doi:10.1007/s10723-019-09497-9. ISSN 1572-9184. S2CID 67877103.
  3. ^ Gonzalez, Laura Lynn, ed. (7 January 2007). "Rosetta@home". YouTube. Rosetta@home. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Save the world using your PC or phone". CNET. Archived from the original on 2017-05-20. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
  5. ^ Scoles, Sarah. "A Brief History of SETI@Home". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2017-05-23. Retrieved 2017-06-01.
  6. ^ "Projects - BOINC Projects". boincsynergy.ca. Archived from the original on 2022-08-28. Retrieved 2022-08-29.
  7. ^ "BOINC computing power". boinc.berkeley.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-11-16. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  8. ^ "TOP500 List - November 2021 | TOP500". www.top500.org. Archived from the original on 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  9. ^ Research and Infrastructure Development for Public-Resource Scientific Computing Archived 2021-01-19 at the Wayback Machine, The National Science Foundation
  10. ^ SCI: NMI Development for Public-Resource Computing and Storage Archived 2004-11-10 at the Wayback Machine, The National Science Foundation
  11. ^ SDCI NMI Improvement: Middleware for Volunteer Computing Archived 2009-05-12 at the Wayback Machine, The National Science Foundation
  12. ^ "Largest computing grid". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
  13. ^ "Put your Android device to work on World Community Grid!". July 22, 2013. Archived from the original on October 9, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  14. ^ "Manual sites of FreeBSD system". January 2, 2015. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.