The first thing to do is to set up a subscription that gives you some free cloud computers (servers) and storage. You can use this to do the prime number calculations for you. You will be allocated a $200 allowance for 30 days. If you use the smallest servers, you could run more than 10 servers for 24 hours a day to do your prime number calculations for you.
As an anti-fraud measure, an identity check will need to be done. This means you’ll be asked for credit card information but you will not be charged.
Here is a video that shows you what to do.
When you sign up to the Prime Challenge, you will be able to create additional challenges for friends, family, colleagues and like-minded individuals to join in with. You will also be given the opportunity to join other live challenges. For example if you are a school teacher and you’d like one of your maths classes to take part in the “Basingstoke Schools Challenge” you can simply create the challenge as you register. Imagine you are a school teacher from a different Basingstoke School, then you can join the existing schools in the Basingstoke Schools Challenge. A mini-challenge can be anything – North Western Universities, ABC Co. Employees, Guildford Curry Club, Burghfield Sailing Club, Android Developers – you decide.
Here is a video that shows you what to do.
You can now log in to Windows Azure and start building and configuring the servers you will use to do your calculations. If you are a computer expert and you know what you are doing, then just build your systems and start entering the results. Step 5 is where you need to go.
Still reading? You want a little help to get you started? You need to log in to the Windows Azure Portal using the Microsoft Account you registered with. Then you can provision a Linux server which you’ll use to do the prime number calculations.
Here is a video that shows you what to do.
Unless you have developed your own algorithm or will be using a prime-number validation program you already know, you will use Primo, developed by Marcel Martin. It’s a program that runs on Linux: that’s why in step 3, you provisioned a Linux computer. The computer you provisioned already has Primo installed, along with another useful program called Calc which can do the arithmetic on numbers that are thousands of digits long.
Watch the video below to get to grips with how you will use Primo.
Here is a video that shows you what to do.
You’ve got this far and you’ve discovered a new prime number. Get it posted in to the results table. It doesn’t matter if you’ve used Primo, a different program or your own code and your own algorithm, you can post any number you have. Primo has a neat verification process – it will just take longer to validate your prime if it wasn’t discovered using Primo.
Here is a video that shows you what to do.