[tor-relays] Request for Feedback on Relay Node Update Management

[torrelay.9puwh at passinbox.com]

Hi Alessandro,

It's good to hear from you. I have a relay in a somewhat similar situation[1], although I've only just clocked it. If you're using Debian or one of its derivatives, then you can configure the unattended-upgrades package to perform a restart at a specific time if required. This means that your relay won't restart every time an upgrade is required, but will keep itself up to date. I think configuring a time for a daily restart (if upgrade required) would be a fairly good balance between stability and reliability. 

See what other people say or from your own experience, as Tor circuits are generally quite resilient and as long as you aren't a guard node I believe connections won't die because your relay is restarting. 

I would also note that Tor recommends [2] an uptime or 24/7 is nice, but not required and that restarts to the daemon or node are fine. Because of this, it might not be worth worrying too much about this issue. 

I hope you find some of this useful,
Seth


[1] https://metrics.torproject.org/rs.html#details/5FEB80D4DCC63180CB4D87C1222177BB099E55AE
[2] https://community.torproject.org/relay/relays-requirements/
-------- Original Message --------
On 26/03/2024 08:54, Alessandro Greco via tor-relays <tor-relays at lists.torproject.org> wrote:

>  Dear Tor-Relays Mailing List Members,
>  
>  I hope this email finds you well. I'm reaching out to share some observations and pose some questions regarding the management of relay node updates, particularly concerning their impact on stability and security of the service provided.
>  
>  Recently, I've noticed an interesting pattern with my relay node (ID: 47B72187844C00AA5D524415E52E3BE81E63056B [1]). I've followed TorProject's recommendations [2] and configured automatic updates, which has led to frequent restarts of the node to keep the Tor software up-to-date. While this practice ensures high security by keeping the software updated, it seems to compromise the stability of the node itself. The Uptime value of my node has remained at a maximum of a few hours.
>  
>  This situation has prompted me to reflect on what might be the best strategy to adopt. On one hand, frequent updates ensure optimal security, while on the other hand, continuous restarts may affect the user experience for those relying on the node's stability for their Tor activities.
>  
>  As such, I'd like to pose some questions to the community to gather feedback and assess best practices:
>  
>  1. In your opinion, is it preferable to maintain automatic updates to ensure maximum security, even if frequent restarts may compromise the node's stability?
>  2. Or would it be more sensible to adjust the update frequency, perhaps performing them once or twice a week, to ensure greater stability of the node without excessively compromising security?
>  3. Have you had similar experiences with your relay nodes? How have you addressed this challenge and what were the outcomes?
>  
>  Thank you in advance for your time and cooperation.
>  
>  Best regards,
>  Aleff.
>  
>  [1] https://metrics.torproject.org/rs.html#details/47B72187844C00AA5D524415E52E3BE81E63056B
>  [2] https://community.torproject.org/relay/setup/guard/debian-ubuntu/updates/
>  
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