Distributed.net
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Type of site
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volunteer computing |
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| Owner | Distributed Computing Technologies, Inc. |
| Website | distributed.net |
| Alexa rank |
 566,939 (January 2015[update]) |
| Launched | 1997 |
distributed.net is a distributed computing effort that is attempting to solve large scale problems using otherwise idle CPU or GPU time. It is governed by Distributed Computing Technologies, Incorporated (DCTI), a non-profit organization under U.S. tax code 501(c)(3).
distributed.net is working on RC5-72 (breaking RC5 with a 72-bit key), and OGR-28 (searching for the optimal 28-mark Golomb ruler). The RC5-72 project is on pace to exhaust the keyspace in just under 150 years, although the project will end whenever the required key is found. Both problems are part of a series: OGR is part of an infinite series; RC5 has eight unsolved challenges from RSA Security, although in May 2007, RSA Security announced that they would no longer be providing prize money for a correct key to any of their secret key challenges. distributed.net has decided to sponsor the original prize offer for finding the key as a result.
In 2001, distributed.net was estimated to have a throughput of over 30 TFLOPS. By 2009, throughput was estimated to be much higher.
A coordinated effort was started in February 1997 by Earle Ady and Christopher G. Stach II of Hotjobs.com and New Media Labs, as an effort to break the RC5-56 portion of the RSA Secret-Key Challenge, a 56-bit encryption algorithm that had a $10,000 USD prize available to anyone who could find the key. Unfortunately, this initial effort had to be suspended as the result of SYN flood attacks by participants upon the server.
A new independent effort, named distributed.net, was coordinated by Jeffrey A. Lawson, Adam L. Beberg, and David C. McNett along with several others who would serve on the board and operate infrastructure. By late March 1997 new proxies were released to resume RC5-56 and work began on enhanced clients. A cow head was selected as the icon of the application and the project's mascot. The RC5-56 challenge was solved on October 19, 1997 after 250 days.
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