[tor-bugs] #28676 [Core Tor/Tor]: Tor versions of Tor nodes should be accessible through ControlPort

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#28676: Tor versions of Tor nodes should be accessible through ControlPort
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 Reporter:  wagon         |          Owner:  (none)
     Type:  enhancement   |         Status:  new
 Priority:  Medium        |      Milestone:  Tor: unspecified
Component:  Core Tor/Tor  |        Version:  Tor: 0.3.4.9
 Severity:  Normal        |     Resolution:
 Keywords:                |  Actual Points:
Parent ID:  #24110        |         Points:
 Reviewer:                |        Sponsor:
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Comment (by wagon):

 There is a command `GETINFO dir/status-vote/current/consensus` which
 returns the same output as the content of the file `cached-microdesc-
 consensus`. So, it has Tor versions of all nodes. However, output of this
 command is very big, so tools which use `ControlPort` may not behave
 nicely if this command is run often.

 This command works even if `UseMicrodescriptors` is set to 0. I don't know
 what this command is exactly doing. Does it query local cache or download
 these "microdescriptors" from network every time it is running? In any
 case, I wonder why it doesn't update the content of the file `cached-
 microdesc-consensus`. Apart from this command there are commands
 `ns/id/FINGERPRINT` and `ns/all`, where the latter prints almost the same
 as `dir/status-vote/current/consensus`, but without Tor versions and
 global headers/footers. The commands `dir/status-vote/current/consensus`
 and `ns/all` mostly duplicate each other.

 Initially I understood descriptor as a "complete" version of
 microdescriptor, but this doesn't look correct. "Full" descriptors, which
 can be learnt separately by `desc/id/FINGERPRINT` or all together by `desc
 /all-recent`, don't contain final bandwidth and relay flags that
 "microdescriptor" has. I guess, when `UseMicrodescriptors` is set to 0,
 Tor just continue to use microdescriptors, but stops updating
 microdescriptors local file `cached-microdesc-consensus`. So,
 microdescriptors and descriptors look as mutually complementing each
 other, where microdescriptor mostly has parameters useful for clients,
 while descriptor has parameters mostly useful for relays (I may be totally
 wrong).

 Thus, technically, as concerns this ticket, Tor versions of relays **can**
 be obtained from `ControlPort`, but I doubt the way, how Tor provides it,
 is convenient for Tor controllers. According to my opinion, this ticket is
 still valid.

 > I'd like to build an abstraction layer over all available directory
 documents (like #25999, but inside tor).
 If there is a ticket about it, write a link, please.

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/28676#comment:18>
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