[Tor-BSD] .br Relays

[George Rosamond]

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A few points to all those people now running Tor relays in Brazil...
some of whom are BCC'd.  Anyone in the BCC not on this list should
subscribe, and if this email is useful, please forward it to the other
.br relay operators.

This email is coming over the Tor-BSD list, since others might have
some input to a bunch of new BSD relay operators.

First, it's awesome to see such a huge leap in any relays under one
country code, and even more impressive when a country that had no
non-Linux or Windows relays now has a bunch of FreeBSD relays, a
NetBSD relay and someone's OSX box running Tor after the con.

The fact that around 25% of the 'observed' bandwidth provided by .br
relays is from a BSD is awesome.

Note a few things:

1.  Keeping the relays up and running consistently is important for
making 'observed bandwidth' reach the bandwidth you want to provide.

Tools like atlas.torproject.org and globe.torproject.org provides more
detailed information, but the relays 'consensus weight' is an
important metric.  And torstatus.rueckgr.at seems to update more
frequently than blutmagie's Tor Status site.

The "stable" flag is a good sign, but means being up consistently over
a period of time.

2.  AFAIK, there's no reason not to be a directory server with this
line in the torrc file:

DirPort <tcp port number> with 9030 being the default

3. It's worthwhile to try using the alpha port of Tor (ie,
security/tor-devel on FreeBSD) since that's where the more frequent
updates are.  Also note that the FreeBSD security/tor package is stuck
at 0.2.6.7, while the port version is 0.2.7.10... so stick to ports
for now.

security/tor-devel requires OpenSSL >=1.0.. so you'll need >=10.x for
those running FreeBSD.

4.  If you're running more than one relay, be sure to note the
MyFamily line in the torrc file.

5.  It might make sense *not* to just spawn relays on VMs but rather
to stick to a single relay providing more bandwidth.  Diversity isn't
about one admin running more boxes, but about more admins each running
a relay.  And a relay with higher bandwidth allowed with better uptime
will be more useful to the Tor network.

I know many of you in .br are at universities or work at places with
access to decent infrastructure and bandwidth, and running a relay is
a great way to contribute to Tor.

Thanks again, and seeing a concrete outcome like this made the trip
all that more worthwhile.

'brigado!

g


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