[tor-dev] UDP Application Support in Tor

[Vilgot Bergquist]

Hi,

I looked at the suggested solutions and I think there is another approach, which is much easier. 


I C it's pretty easy to encapsulate UDP segments inside TCP segments. Hence there is no need to re-organize the connection logic of tor relays. Instead it should be possible to make Guards, when receiving an UDP packet, to just add a TCP header and then it goes through the normal process. The exit nodes than removed the TCP header and pass the UDP segment on.

Regards
Vilgot


tor-dev-request at lists.torproject.org <tor-dev-request at lists.torproject.org> schrieb am Donnerstag, 25. Januar 2024 um 18:49:

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> 1. New Proposal - UDP Application Support in Tor
> (Micah Elizabeth Scott)
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> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2024 09:49:02 -0800
> From: Micah Elizabeth Scott beth at torproject.org
> 

> To: tor-dev at lists.torproject.org
> Subject: [tor-dev] New Proposal - UDP Application Support in Tor
> Message-ID: 79aa2de8-1ff9-4579-b87f-ee9792e9cbb0 at torproject.org
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> Hello tor-dev folks!
> 

> Late last year I started taking a close look at what it would take to
> support applications on Tor which rely on UDP networking. This was
> originally to be based on Nick's proposal, 339-udp-over-tor.
> 

> The scope of this work so far has been specifically focused on end-user
> application compatibility, and excludes fundamental changes to Tor's
> network structure or protocols for now.
> 

> This combination of approach and scope left me with more questions than
> answers, so I started looking deeper into the available solutions along
> with their expected benefits and risks. This proposal is the result of
> that investigation.
> 

> Please find the text attached, or in the torspec repo as proposal #348:
> 

> https://gitlab.torproject.org/tpo/core/torspec/-/blob/main/proposals/348-udp-app-support.md?ref_type=heads
> 

> Unlike a typical proposal, this does not recommend any specific change
> to the Tor implementation. Several possible changes are presented, but
> ultimately the recommended approach is to use application-specific UDP
> relays to achieve compatibility.
> 

> Integrated approaches are also presented, where Tor does involve itself
> in the transit of individual datagrams. These approaches offer
> advantages only when they are also part of a long-term plan to offer
> transport features beyond those offered by TCP. Until such a plan is
> in-scope, specific UDP extensions cannot be offered with confidence.
> 

> I would appreciate any feedback on this proposal, whether it's about
> this particular shorter-term context or about longer-term plans to
> achieve some kind of optional unreliable transport.
> 

> Thanks for your time!
> 

> --beth
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