[tor-relays] Declining Relay Usage

[Micah Elizabeth Scott]

On 12/17/23 21:16, likogan via tor-relays wrote:

> My exit relay has seen steadily decreasing traffic from 8MBps to 6MBps
> over the span of three weeks. It averages a load of ~50% CPU usage and
> ~65% RAM usage. It's rated network capacity is 17Mbps on a 10GB link.
> Why would traffic decrease if I have plenty of spare resources? Are
> there ways I can configure my server to boost traffic?
>
> <https://metrics.torproject.org/rs.html#details/292FCACE773DC259B799914A23BE65A6A6178E8F>


Hello!

In general it isn't possible to arbitrarily request more traffic; it's 
bad if an adversary can easily spin up many new relays and get as much 
traffic as they want directed their way, for example. It's normal for 
relays with low uptime to get less traffic. If you aren't seeing CPU 
usage hit 100% of a single core that is not necessarily a problem. Extra 
capacity is useful for providing lower-latency circuits. If you want 
more traffic, you might just need to be patient and let your relay run 
without interruption.

-beth