Mining Overlord Files

Introduction:

Overlord is a Python console program that monitors a defined process name and network connection to detect when crypto coin mining programs like cgminer and bfgminer have stopped responding and automatically restart them.

This program was born out of necessity because this geek can’t always babysit his mining rigs while away at work or play.  It has proven to be an invaluable and reliable tool that has dramatically improved my crypto coin mining uptime without any direct user intervention.  

If you find it to be equally useful in bolstering your mining uptime, please consider making a donation to the address below to support future updates, enhancements, and feature additions to this tool.  This is certainly not required, but much appreciated.

David Morgan <morgan.davej@gmail.com>
BTC:  12oodQFYgDYNgeYW2MkJpuXQCLt232BWiG
LTC:  LPghjJap1UEPUrwVT6rDfsGXwBfnvH7Xwx



Compatibility:

I’m working to make Overlord as cross-platform compatible as possible with execution branches for Windows and Linux/Unix/Mac, however my testing resources are limited given the large number of Linux derivatives.  I welcome any feedback or suggestions that will help increase compatibility with future releases.

This script was developed for Python 2.7.x and will not run on 2.6 or below. I have not tested upward compatibility with Python 3 yet.  I strongly recommend using the latest Python 2.7.5 release, but it should work fine with other point releases in the 2.7 series.

To date, this script has been tested on the following systems:
   - Windows 7 Professional
   - Windows Vista Ultimate
   - Windows XP Professional
   - Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
   - Raspian Linux (Raspberry Pi)
   - Mac OS X 10.4



Dependencies:

- All systems -- Python version 2.7 required (2.7.5 recommended)
- Windows Vista/7/8 -- Users must either deactivate UAC, or run the script from an administrative command prompt. Otherwise, the netstat pool connectivity check will be disabled due to access restrictions enforced by Windows’ User Account Control.
- Linux -- This script utilizes the gnome-terminal terminal emulator.  The script can be altered to use any emulator you’d like, however gnome-terminal is the only one currently supported.


  
Intial setup:

Getting Overlord up and running is a relatively easy process.  This process assumes that you already have your mining software installed, connected to a pool, and running normally.  It is recommended that you create a launcher script like a .sh or .bat file to call your mining program if you have not already.

Step 1 - Download the ‘overlord-#.#.#.py’ file.
Step 2 - Open the overlord-#.#.#.py file in a text editor and edit the three variables near the top.
Step 3 - Open an administrative command line and run the modified overlord-#.#.#.py file

Step 1 download location:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/miningoverlord/files/

Step 2 variable descriptions:

Variable 1 -  mining_app: 
Enter the name of the mining program you are using (e.g. cgminer, or bfgminer, or some other program.)  Do NOT enter a file extension after the name.  This is variable is set to “cgminer” by default.

Variable 2 - miner_path:
Enter the full path to your mining launcher script, or call your  mining program here.  Below are some examples:
   -- Windows --  "C:\cgminer-3.4.0-windows\cgminer.exe -o pool.50btc.com:8332 -u userFoo -p passBar"
   -- Windows --  "C:\Users\user\mining_launcher.bat"
   -- Linux   --  "/home/user/mining_launcher.sh"
   -- Mac     --  "/Users/user/mining_launcher.sh"

Variable 3 - reset_int:
Set this value to the number of minutes you’d like to wait before an automatic restart of the mining program is initiated.  This acts as sort of a failsafe in case the mining software stalls under some unknown condition, it will not be stuck forever.  This variable is set to 120 (2 hours) by default.



Windows Vista/7/8 UAR and running as an administrator:

The UAC (User Account control) feature within windows prevents this script from  calling "netstat -b" when checking for an active mining pool connection.  To get around this you must either disable UAC on your computer, or run Overlord from an administrative command prompt.

To run from an administrative command prompt:
   - Find cmd.exe or its shortcut icon in the start menu, or by pressing the
     Windows key and typing cmd to search for it.
   - Right click the cmd icon and choose "Run as administrator".
   - In the command prompt, navigate to the directory where overlord_enforcer.py 
     is located.
   - Type:  python overlord_enforcer.py

To disable UAC (must be an administrator to do this):
   - Open up the “User Accounts” control panel
   - Select the account you’re using
   - Click the “Change User Account Control Settings” link 
   - Move the slider down to 0
   - Restart your computer