Re: Howto limit number of connections?

[Scott Bennett <bennett@xxxxxxxxxx>]

     On Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:35:16 +0100 Hans de Hartog <dehartog@xxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
>I'm running a tor-relay for a few weeks now and I only have one problem 
>left.
>My maxbandwidth is set to 50Kb (the minimum for also doing the DIR-stuff)
>but after a few days the number of established connections for the ORport
>has grown to about 1500 and my router doesn't like it (comes to a grinding
>halt). Resetting the router fixes it. I have other users going thru the 
>same router
>and they start complaining.
>netstat -n | grep 9001 | wc -l
>1496
>Is the number of connections the problem (it's a Sitecom router WL-153)?

     If a Sitecom WL-153 is the kind of router that one might buy at a store
like Best Buy or (the now defunct) Circuit City, then quite probably the
connection count is indeed the problem.  Linksys routers seem to start having
problems with fewer than 200 connections, but the threshhold isn't clear.  My
guess, therefore, is that it is the NAT table that is reaching the router's
memory limit in these cases.  I have no experience with Sitecom routers,
however.
     You didn't give any information about the tor version number, your
operating system and version, or your local network configuration.  I got
around the electronics store router limitations by hooking my my FreeBSD
system directly and using it as the router.  By the command you mentioned,
it appears that you are running some version of UNIX or LINUX, too, so you
might be able to something similar.
>If yes, how can I decrease the number of connections? I'ts not an exit node.
>
     There may not be a good way to do that.  It has been requested many
times on this list, but IIRC has not been implemented it yet.


                                  Scott Bennett, Comm. ASMELG, CFIAG
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