From f77d56b93eb8aada52e9098213778d047f47c665 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Nick Mathewson Date: Fri, 26 Jan 2007 06:08:05 +0000 Subject: r11521@catbus: nickm | 2007-01-26 01:07:55 -0500 Split tor-spec-v2 and dir-voting into component proposals. svn:r9417 --- proposals/104-short-descriptors.txt | 41 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 41 insertions(+) create mode 100644 proposals/104-short-descriptors.txt (limited to 'proposals/104-short-descriptors.txt') diff --git a/proposals/104-short-descriptors.txt b/proposals/104-short-descriptors.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c170c64 --- /dev/null +++ b/proposals/104-short-descriptors.txt @@ -0,0 +1,41 @@ + + Long and Short Router Descriptors + + + Some of the costliest fields in the current directory protocol are ones + that no client actually uses. In particular, the "read-history" and + "write-history" fields are used only by the authorities for monitoring the + status of the network. If we took them out, the size of a compressed list + of all the routers would fall by about 60%. (No other disposable field + would save more than 2%.) + + One possible solution here is that routers should generate and upload a + short-form and long-form descriptor. Only the short-form descriptor should + ever be used by anybody for routing. The long-form descriptor should be + used only for analytics and other tools. (If we allowed people to route with + long descriptors, we'd have to ensure that they stayed in sync with the + short ones somehow.) We can ensure that the short descriptors are used by + only recommending those in the network statuses. + + Another possible solution would be to drop these fields from descriptors, + and have them uploaded as a part of a separate "bandwidth report" to the + authorities. This could help prevent the mistake of using long descriptors + in the place of short ones. + + Thoughts? -NM + +Migration: + + For long/short descriptors: + * In 0.1.2.x: + * Authorities should accept both, now, and silently drop short + descriptors. + * Routers should upload both once authorities accept them. + * There should be a "long descriptor" url and the current "normal" URL. + Authorities should serve long descriptors from both URLs. + * Once tools that want long descriptors support fetching them from the + "long descriptor" URL: + * Have authorities remember short descriptors, and serve them from the + 'normal' URL. + + -- cgit v1.2.3-54-g00ecf