[tor-relays] Hibernation timing & bandwidth

[Sebastian Hahn]

On Oct 5, 2011, at 7:20 PM, Steve Snyder wrote:

> I have a relay with a fixed monthly bandwidth limit, so I expect the relay to hibernate toward the end of the month.  (I'm trying to spread the bandwidth out over the month, but actual relay utilization cannot be estimated accurately.)
> 
> I'm wondering how to time this hibernation period.  What I'd like to avoid is hibernating during a period when relay hibernation is common.
> 
> If I know that most Accounting-limited relays hibernate at, say, the end of the calendar month, then I can schedule my hibernation to be at the start of the calendar month.  If most hibernation is done on Saturday (day 6, the end of the week) then I can arrange to sleep on Wednesday (day 3).
> 
> Is there a known trend to relay hibernation that I can schedule against?
> 
> Thanks.

After running for a whole accounting period, Tor automatically
randomizes the start time so that you will use up all your bandwidth
for the configured time, assuming the traffic from last month is a
good indication for the traffic of this month (it usually is) and that
you have kept your state file around, so that Tor can save this data.

In short: You don't have to do anything, Tor is already smart
enough to handle it. If you notice problems, please let us know by
filing a bug!

Thanks
Sebastian