Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing

The Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC, pronounced /bɔɪŋk/ – rhymes with "oink") is an <a href="/facts/Open-source_model/uDWVYJ4V">open-source</a> <a href="/facts/Middleware_(distributed_applications)/3sS5aCRD">middleware</a> system for <a href="/facts/Volunteer_computing/YkXGa3N8">volunteer computing</a> (a type of <a href="/facts/Distributed_computing/o5nyhqTF">distributed computing</a>). Developed originally to support <a href="/facts/SETI%40home/y8w7Euex">SETI@home</a>, it became the platform for many other applications in areas as diverse as <a href="/facts/Medicine/2fnp90Je">medicine</a>, <a href="/facts/Molecular_biology/YgqU35ub">molecular biology</a>, <a href="/facts/Mathematics/pxTouaz4">mathematics</a>, <a href="/facts/Linguistics/oQuamvf2">linguistics</a>, <a href="/facts/Climatology/bYS7FktY">climatology</a>, <a href="/facts/Environmental_science/svr8eCse">environmental science</a>, and <a href="/facts/Astrophysics/krFPRWLA">astrophysics</a>, among others. The purpose of BOINC is to enable researchers to utilize <a href="/facts/Computer_performance/td1qKox4">processing resources</a> of <a href="/facts/Personal_computer/koaYfNce">personal computers</a> and other devices around the world.
BOINC development began with a group based at the <a href="/facts/Space_Sciences_Laboratory/9w4ftAa6">Space Sciences Laboratory</a> (SSL) at the <a href="/facts/University_of_California%2c_Berkeley/MXVEjklr">University of California, Berkeley</a>, and led by <a href="/facts/David_P._Anderson/6sd8jaux">David P. Anderson</a>, 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 <a href="/facts/FLOPS/6zYlH68F">PetaFLOPS</a> as of 16 November 2021<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Berkeley_Open_Infrastructure_for_Network_Computing&action=edit">[update]</a> (it would be the 21st largest processing capability in the world compared with an individual <a href="/facts/Supercomputer/HT9NwGAN">supercomputer</a>). The <a href="/facts/National_Science_Foundation/FlDT8TbW">National Science Foundation</a> (NSF) funds BOINC through awards SCI/0221529, SCI/0438443 and SCI/0721124. <a href="/facts/Guinness_World_Records/Az88wVWk">Guinness World Records</a> ranks BOINC as the largest <a href="/facts/Computing_grid/2GQhzN5l">computing grid</a> in the world.
BOINC <a href="/facts/Source_code/o9J6Jv23">code</a> runs on various <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating systems</a>, including <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Windows/bwhAhuSL">Microsoft Windows</a>, <a href="/facts/MacOS/Y93vVpTm">macOS</a>, <a href="/facts/Android_(operating_system)/nNyHb0xz">Android</a>, <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a>, and <a href="/facts/FreeBSD/RKsFTm7F">FreeBSD</a>. BOINC is <a href="/facts/Free_software/IaoVtJXn">free software</a> released under the terms of the <a href="/facts/GNU_Lesser_General_Public_License/AXwkz9x3">GNU Lesser General Public License</a> (LGPL).

Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing open-in-new

Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing