Golem, the decentralized supercomputer @testing Alpha 0.13.0

Golem is a project build on the Ethereum network. Simply said Golem is the “Airbnb” for computing. The idea is as follows, the project tries to use and combine the power of computers and data centers already out there into a super computer which anyone can use. Just like Airbnb gives the possibility to rent your apartment, Golem lets you rent your computing power. The network consist out of people offering computing power, and people demanding computing power. In the future Golem will be able to execute a broad range of tasks, from machine learning algorithms to scientific computing. But for now, Golem focuses on CGI rendering for the open source platforms Blender and LuxRenderer. I tried the most recent version, with a rendering assignment for Blender. 

_{Image source}

Golem Alpha 0.13.0 

First of all I downloaded the most recent version of Golem using the following link: https://golem.network/alpha.html. After installation I takes a little while for Golem to start and connect to nodes. If you run into any trouble, try the troubleshooting page on GitHub. The interface of Golem is pretty straightforward, on the main page you can check your wallet balance and choose if and how much of your machine’s recourse you would like to make available for the Golem network. You can also check your transaction history, and setup some advanced settings for your CPU, RAM and Disk.  

Adding a task 

Before adding a task in Golem you need to create or download a Blender/LuxRenderer file. I downloaded a test-file (the Golem logo) from the following webpage http://golem.timjones.id.au/. In the tasks section of the Golem application you can “drop” the file to create a new task. After the application has done a check you can set the settings for your task. First you need set the image preferences: the resolution, the frame range and the format. Then you need to set the task settings, being the task time out period, the subtask amount and the subtask time out period. To speed up your task, you can divide it into subtasks. This way multiple providers will complete a portion of your tasking, completing it a lot faster. The last thing you need to do is place a bid for each subtask in GNT (the Golem token) and start the task. Then the process is set in motion and the tasks are distributed over the network. You can check the progress by clicking on the task and setting the preview button to "on" in the bottom right. When the task is completed you can find the result in the output folder!  

_{On the left the image in Blender, on the right the Golem application previewing and processing the task}

Next up 

Currently the developers a working towards the first live version of Golem named Brass Golem. This version of Golem only focuses on CGI rendering. The next version is called Clay Golem, this edition enables the possibility for developers to integrate with Golem through a Task API and Application Registry. After the next significant update of Golem I will be testing the application again!