private-tor-network/README.md
2016-06-24 21:36:54 -04:00

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## Private Tor Network on Docker
##### An isolated, private tor network running entirely in Docker containers
### Quickstart
The easiest way to get a tor network up and running is to use the docker-compose create and then scale function
```
docker-compose up
docker-compose scale relay=5 exit=3
```
This will create 3 directory authorities (DA's), 1 client listning on port 9050, 5 relays, and 3 exits. You can scale to whatever you want.
### Uses
If you're going "Why do I want this?" here's a few examples:
**tor research**: learn how tor interacts with nodes, make modifications to settings and see what happens, understand how the Tor Network operates without affecting real people. (Originally this project was part of a class I wrote to teach about how tor works)
**tor development**: in the case you're working on a patch that is more complex and requires seeing what happens on the tor network, you can apply the patches to the containers.
**traffic analysis**: Test out the latest tor exploit and pretend to be a nation state adversary.
### Network Settings
All of the required information that other nodes need to know about on the network are stored in a mapped volume: `./tor:/tor`. (I know you shouldn't do this but I needed it for a class) NOTE: This folder must exist on the host and allow the debian-tor user to create files in this directory.
### Running Individual Roles
This is building a base tor relay container and then modifying it based on ROLE environment variable you give it. For example, this would make a directory authority (DA)
`docker run -e ROLE=DA antitree/tor-private-server`
Available roles right now are:
* DA - directory authority
* RELAY - non-exit relay
* EXIT - exit relay
* CLIENT - exposes the tor socks port on 9050 to the host
### Tor configuration
This configuration is based on the Tor documentation for how to run a private tor network. You should also check out Chutney[1] which does something similar with separate processes instead of containers. If you need to make a modification (such as changing the timing of the DA's) edit the `config/torrc` and/or `config/torrc.da` files. You may need to modify the Dockerfile as well.
### Debugging
Here are a few things to try if you're runing into issues:
* Check the tor logs sent to stdout `docker logs -f torserver_da_1`
* Check all the logs with `docker-compose logs`
* Enable verbose logging by changing the `./config/torrc`
* Check permissions for your ./tor folder
* Delete the files in your ./tor folder so you can start from scratch (or specifically the torrc.da file)
* To cleanup the environment and start over you can use `docker-compose kill` and `docker-compose rm -ra` to remove them all.
### TODO
* Use an environment variable to choose which version of tor to compile
* Get rid of apt-get from docker container
* Wait for someone to yell at me about using scale like this and then move to the new networking
### Dislaimer
This project is in no way associated with the Tor Project or their developers. Like many people I'm a fan of Tor and recommend considering ways you can help the project. Consider running a relay, donating, or writing code.
### References
- https://github.com/chriswayg/tor-server
- https://www.torproject.org/docs/tor-relay-debian.html.en
[1]: https://gitweb.torproject.org/chutney.git/