[tor-bugs] #10460 [Metrics Website]: Graph advertised bandwidth of 100th fastest relay and 100th fastest exit

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#10460: Graph advertised bandwidth of 100th fastest relay and 100th fastest exit
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     Reporter:  karsten          |      Owner:  karsten
         Type:  enhancement      |     Status:  needs_information
     Priority:  normal           |  Milestone:
    Component:  Metrics Website  |    Version:
   Resolution:                   |   Keywords:
Actual Points:                   |  Parent ID:
       Points:                   |
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Changes (by karsten):

 * status:  new => needs_information


Comment:

 I made two graphs:

 The [https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/attachment/ticket/10460
 /advbw-nth-fastest-relay-10-20-50-100-200-500-1000-2000.png first graph]
 shows the advertised bandwidth of the nth-fastest relay in the network.
 You asked for the 100th fastest relay or exit, but I added a few more n's
 from which we can pick.  We can kick out all n's but one for the final
 graph if that makes it easier to understand.

 What I don't like about this first graph is that n=100 is an absolute
 number that doesn't grow or shrink with the number of considered relays.
 There are roughly 5000 relays in the network today, so the 100th fastest
 is in the top 2%.  But there are only about 1000 exits in the network, so
 the 100th fastest exit is only in the top 10%.  This gets worse if you
 look at the network over time, which only had 1000 relays in 2007, but
 keep the number 100 fixed.  It would be better to pick a fixed percentage
 value.

 That's why I made a
 [https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/attachment/ticket/10460/advbw-
 percentiles-100-99-98-97.png second graph] with advertised bandwidth
 percentiles.  It shows the 100-th percentile which is simply the maximum
 advertised bandwidth, and the 99th, 98th, and 97th advertised bandwidth
 percentiles.  For example, the 98th percentile value is the advertised
 bandwidth that 98% of relays don't exceed and that 2% of relays don't fall
 below.  With 5000 relays, it's roughly the 100th fastest relay in the
 network.  With 1000 exits, the 98th percentile is the 20th fastest exit in
 the network.

 However, I'm not sure which graph makes more sense to people.  Or maybe
 there's a third variant that is even easier to understand?  Thoughts?

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Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/10460#comment:1>
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