On Thu, 9 Oct 2008 19:23:48 +0100 Geoff Down
<downie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Interestingly, I had about 6 single nodes showing on the Vidalia
network map yesterday, whilst my traffic was going via a normal 3-node
circuit and another 3-node circuit was in preparation.
The single nodes disappeared after 20 minutes or so.
Were those nodes your entry guards by any chance? Although tor
initially
tries to build a few (3?) circuits, once they have expired and no
longer have
any active streams in them, they get torn down *except* for the links
between
your client and the entry guard nodes. This not only improves
security, but
also means that a new circuit already has the first hop connected when
tor
goes to build that new circuit.
Of course, that doesn't explain why those links disappeared after
about
20 minutes, and right offhand, no other explanation comes to mind.