[tor-bugs] #6790 [Tor Directory Authority]: Write proposal draft for directory mirrors to accept, aggregate and hand off descriptors to dirauths

[Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki]

#6790: Write proposal draft for directory mirrors to accept, aggregate and hand
off descriptors to dirauths
----------------------------------------------+-----------------------------
 Reporter:  mikeperry                         |          Owner:                    
     Type:  enhancement                       |         Status:  new               
 Priority:  normal                            |      Milestone:  Tor: 0.2.4.x-final
Component:  Tor Directory Authority           |        Version:                    
 Keywords:  MikePerry201210, proposal-needed  |         Parent:  #2664             
   Points:                                    |   Actualpoints:                    
----------------------------------------------+-----------------------------

Comment(by nickm):

 I think that the right answer might be more roles then: not shoving
 functionality around among existing roles.

 IOW, directory authorities must currently:
   1. Receive descriptors that routers publish
   2. Test servers
   3. Vote
   4. Produce a consensus
   5. Let mirrors fetch that consensus and the (micro)descriptors that it
 refers to
   6. Let clients without a valid consensus bootstrap onto the network.

 Right now, we're seeing load problems from 6 and to a lesser extent 5.  We
 hope to solve 6 with #572 or its successor.  We might also try to offload
 2.  The functionality of 3 and 4 seems to be inherent in what directory
 authorities do.  Solving 5 does not currently seem to have a ticket.

 If we got the directory authorities role down to only 4 and 5, that would
 let us actually have directory servers ''not be relays at all'',  which
 would sure help with the load issues.

 This ticket is about solving 1.  I'm actually loosely in favor of
 decoupling the role of "receive and sanity-check descriptors" from the
 rest of what authorities do, but I don't think it's as critical as
 figuring out how to offload 5 and 6.  I could chance my mind about that if
 data appears.

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/6790#comment:13>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
The Tor Project: anonymity online