[tor-dev] Upcoming Tor change with application impact: "Dormant Mode"

[Nick Mathewson]

Hello!

This email is about a new feature that has some implications here for
applications that use Tor. I want to make sure we've thought about and
prepared for those implications, since we still have time to tweak
this feature.

== Overview

In 0.4.0.x, Tor will begin supporting a new "dormant" mode in which it
does not initiate network activity, and tries to avoid CPU wakeups.
This mode is intended to help mobile devices sleep, and to minimize
the impact of unused Tor clients on the network, and on the devices
that run them.  For the implementation history, see:
   https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/28335
and
   https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/28624

By default, Tor will become dormant if it is a pure client (not a
relay, not an onion service[*]), and if it has received not client
activity for 24 hours.  (You can change the interval with
DormantClientTimeout.)

Unlike "DisableNetwork 1", Tor in dormant mode will not close any
listener ports, and will become active again as soon as it receives a
client connection.  But like a "DisableNetwork 1" Tor, a dormant Tor
will not build predicted circuits, and will not download directory
information -- and therefore, will not bootstrap.

Controllers can make Tor become dormant or non-dormant by sending the
commands "SIGNAL DORMANT" and "SIGNAL ACTIVE" respectively -- these
are now documented in control-spec.txt.

Dormant state is persistent: if Tor has been idle for 20 hours, and
you stop tor and start it again, and idle for 4 more hours, Tor will
become dormant. If you stop tor and start it again, Tor will start in
dormant mode.

== Documentation

Here's the documentation we have so far -- please let me know if you
have ideas for clarification:

       DormantClientTimeout N minutes|hours|days|weeks
           If Tor spends this much time without any client activity, enter a
           dormant state where automatic circuits are not built, and directory
           information is not fetched. Does not affect servers or onion
           services. Must be at least 10 minutes. (Default: 24 hours)

       DormantTimeoutDisabledByIdleStreams 0|1
           If true, then any open client stream (even one not reading or
           writing) counts as client activity for the purpose of
           DormantClientTimeout. If false, then only network activity counts.
           (Default: 1)

       DormantOnFirstStartup 0|1
           If true, then the first time Tor starts up with a fresh
           DataDirectory, it starts in dormant mode, and takes no actions
           until the user has made a request. (This mode is recommended if
           installing a Tor client for a user who might not actually use it.)
           If false, Tor bootstraps the first time it is started, whether it
           sees a user request or not.

           After the first time Tor starts, it begins in dormant mode if it
           was dormant before, and not otherwise. (Default: 0)


== Compatibility issues

I see two issues here: one minor, and one major.

Minor issue: some applications periodically make requests to the tor
network on their own -- for example, Tor Browser's update requests.
These requests prevent Tor from becoming dormant.  If this is
undesired, we can add some way around this.

Major issue: some applications expect that Tor will always bootstrap
when it starts, and delay presenting their own UI until Tor is ready.
But if Tor starts as dormant, then it will not bootstrap until it
receives a request from the client or a "SIGNAL ACTIVE"  command from
the controller. This could lead to breakage as the application waits
for Tor to tell it that it's ready, and Tor waits for somebody to tell
it that it's needed.

Are all application developers okay with the issues above, and okay
with working around them?  If not, we may need changes in Tor before
0.4.0.x is released.  Let's talk!


[*] I'd like to add support for dormant onion services, but that's
harder. See https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/28424 .

peace,
-- 
Nick