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@@ -19,18 +19,82 @@ list. -NM
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1. General operation
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1. General operation
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-* We build some circuits preemptively, and some on-demand.
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-* We attach greedily, and expire after time.
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+ Tor begins building circuits as soon as it has enough directory
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+ information to do so (see section 5.1 of dir-spec.txt). Some circuits are
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+ built preemptively because we expect to need them later (for user
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+ traffic), and some are build because of immediate need (for user traffic
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+ that no current circuit can handle, for testing the network or our
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+ availability, and so on).
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+
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+ When a client application creates a new stream (by opening a SOCKS
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+ connection or launching a resolve request), we attach it to an appropriate
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+ open (or in-progress) circuit if one exists, and launch a new circuit only
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+ if no current circuit can handle the request. We rotate circuits over
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+ time to avoid some profiling attacks.
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+
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+ These processes are described in more detail below.
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1b. Types of circuits.
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1b. Types of circuits.
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+
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* Stable / Ordinary
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* Stable / Ordinary
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* Internal / Exit
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* Internal / Exit
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+1c. Terminology
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+
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+ A "path" is an ordered sequence of nodes, not yet built as a circuit.
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+
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+ A "clean" circuit is one that has not yet been used for any stream or
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+ rendezvous traffic.
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+
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+ A "stable" node is one that we believe to have the 'Stable' flag set on
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+ the basis of our current directory information. A "stable" circuit is one
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+ that consists entirely of "stable" nodes.
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+
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+ A "persistent" stream is one that we predict will require a long uptime.
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+ Currently, Tor does this by examining the stream's target port, and
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+ comparing it to a list of "long-lived" ports. (Default: 21, 22, 706, 1863,
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+ 5050, 5190, 5222, 5223, 6667, 8300, 8888.)
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+
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+ An exit node "supports" a stream if the stream's target IP is known, and
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+ the stream's IP and target Port are allowed by the exit node's declared
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+ exit policy. A path "supports" a stream if:
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+ * The last node in the path "supports" the stream, and
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+ * If the stream is "persistent," all the nodes in the path are
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+ "stable".
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+
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+ An exit node "might support" a stream if the stream's target IP is unknown
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+ (because we haven't resolved it yet), and the exit node's declared exit
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+ policy allows some IPs to exit at that port. ???
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+
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2. Building circuits
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2. Building circuits
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-* Preemptive building
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-* On-demand building
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- * Cannibalizing circuits
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+2.1. When we build.
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+
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+ When running as a client, Tor tries to maintain at least 3 clean circuits,
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+ so that new streams can be handled quickly. To increase the likelihood of
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+ success, Tor tries to predict what exit nodes will be useful by choosing
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+ from among nodes that support the ports we have used in the recent past.
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+
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+ If Tor needs to attach a stream that no current exit circuit can support,
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+ it looks for an existing clean circuit to cannibalize. If we find one,
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+ we try to extend it another hop to an exit node that might support the
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+ stream. [Must be internal???]
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+
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+ If no circuit exists, or is currently being built, along a path that
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+ might support a stream, we begin building a new circuit that might support
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+ the stream.
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+
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+
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+
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+2.2. Path selection
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+
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+ When we bui
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+
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+
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+2.3. Handling failure
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+
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+2.4. Tracking "predicted" ports
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+
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* Choosing the path first, building second.
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* Choosing the path first, building second.
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* Choosing the length of the circuit.
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* Choosing the length of the circuit.
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* Choosing entries, midpoints, exits.
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* Choosing entries, midpoints, exits.
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@@ -46,7 +110,6 @@ list. -NM
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* Timeouts and when Tor autoretries.
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* Timeouts and when Tor autoretries.
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* What stream-end-reasons are appropriate for retrying.
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* What stream-end-reasons are appropriate for retrying.
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-
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4. Rendezvous circuits
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4. Rendezvous circuits
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5. Guard nodes
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5. Guard nodes
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@@ -341,4 +404,11 @@ more than just let users ask for certain entry nodes.
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+============================================================
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+Some stuff that worries me about entry guards. 2006 Jun, Nickm.
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+
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+1. It is unlikely for two users to have the same set of entry guards.
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+
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+2. Observing a user is sufficient to learn its entry guards.
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+3. So, as we move around, we leak our
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