Install Folding@Home on your Linux home server

README.md

Introduction

If you, like me, want to contribute to Folding@Home from your Linux home server, it takes just few easy steps.

Setup

1. Create your Folding@Home Passkey here (needed in a sec)
2. Install the Folding@Home Client (instructions)
3. Configure it at /etc/fahclient/config.xml
4. Restart the service or reboot

NOTE: For a home-server kind of setup like mine, just install the fahclient. You don't need fahcontrol or fawviewer.

My example configuration

Follows my /etc/fahclient/config.xml: will likely be ok for you too.

Update

I noticed that even for LIGHT workload, FaH was making my little server work quite intensely. So I played around a bit with settings and found that this combination is better for me:

• 1 slot, with 1 CPU
• power set to MEDIUM
• idle set to true

Because the server does also other things at home (like running Plex and Pi-Hole), this works better for me overall and I keep the overal CPU temperature stable below 50 Celsius degree.

config.xml

<config>
  <!-- General configuration -->
  <cause v='COVID_19'/>
  <gpu v='false'/>

  <!-- HTTP Server -->
  <allow v='127.0.0.1,192.168.178.0/24'/>

  <!-- Remote Command Server -->
  <password v='YOUR_PASSWORD'/>

  <!-- Workload -->
  <idle v='true'/>
  <power v='MEDIUM'/>

  <!-- User Information -->
  <passkey v='YOUR_PASSKEY'/>
  <user v='YOUR_USERNAME'/>

  <!-- Web Server -->
  <web-allow v='127.0.0.1,192.168.178.0/24'/>

  <!-- Folding Slots -->
  <slot id='0' type='CPU'>
    <cpus v='1'/>
  </slot>
</config>