The more significant mhatta blog post

i2p2www/blog/2019/07/27/mhatta-post-one.rst

+.. meta::
+     :author: mhatta
+     :date: 2019-07-27
+     :excerpt: {% trans %}Speeding up your I2P network{% endtrans %}
+
+=====================================================
+{% trans %}Speeding up your I2P network{% endtrans %}
+=====================================================
+
+{% trans %}*This post is adapted directly from material originally created for mhatta's*
+`medium blog <https://medium.com/@mhatta/speeding-up-your-i2p-network-c08ec9de225d>`__\ *.*
+*He deserves the credit for the OP. It has been updated in certain places where*
+*it refers to old versions of I2P as current and has undergone some light*
+*editing. -idk*{% endtrans %}
+
+{% trans %}Right after it starts up, I2P is often seen as a little bit slow. It's true, and
+we all know why, by nature, `garlic routing <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garlic_routing>`__
+adds overhead to the familiar experience of using the internet so that you can
+have privacy, but this means that for many or most I2P services, your data will
+need to go through 12 hops by default.{% endtrans %}
+
+|Diagram of I2P Connection|
+`Analysis of tools for online anonymity <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289531182_An_analysis_of_tools_for_online_anonymity>`__
+
+{% trans %}Also, unlike Tor, I2P was primarily designed as a closed network. You can
+easily access `eepsites <https://medium.com/@mhatta/how-to-set-up-untraceable-websites-eepsites-on-i2p-1fe26069271d>`__ or other resources inside I2P, but you are not supposed
+to access `clearnet <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearnet_(networking)>`__
+websites through I2P. There exist a few I2P “outproxies” similar to
+`Tor <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(anonymity_network)>`__\ ’s exit nodes to
+access clearnet, but most of them are very slow to use as going to the clearnet
+is effectively *another* hop in the already 6 hops in, six hops out connection.{% endtrans %}
+
+{% trans %}Until a few versions ago, this problem was even harder to deal with because many
+I2P router users were having difficulties configuring the bandwidth settings for
+their routers. If everyone who can takes the time to adjust their bandwidth
+settings properly, they will improve not only your connection but also the I2P
+network as a whole.{% endtrans %}
+
+{% trans %}Adjusting bandwidth limits{% endtrans %}
+===================================================
+
+{% trans %}Since I2P is a peer-to-peer network, you have to share some of your network
+bandwidth with other peers. You see choose how much in “I2P Bandwidth
+Configuration” (“Configure Bandwidth” button in the “Applications and
+Configuration” section of I2P Router Console, or
+http://localhost:7657/config).{% endtrans %}
+
+|I2P Bandwidth Configuration|
+
+{% trans %}If you see a shared bandwidth limit of 48 KBps, which is very low, then you
+may not have adjusted your shared bandwidth from the default. As the original
+author of the material this blog post is adapted from noted, I2P has a default
+shared bandwidth limit that is very low until the user adjusts it to avoid
+causing issues with the user's connection.{% endtrans %}
+
+{% trans %}However, since many users may not know exactly which bandwidth settings to
+adjust, the `I2P 0.9.38 release <https://geti2p.net/en/download>`__ introduced a
+New Install Wizard. It contains a Bandwidth Test, which automatically detects
+(thanks to M-Lab’s `NDT <https://www.measurementlab.net/tests/ndt/>`__) and adjusts
+I2P’s bandwidth settings accordingly.{% endtrans %}
+
+{% trans %}If you want to re-run the wizard, for instance following a change in your
+service provider or bcause you installed I2P before version 0.9.38, you can
+re-launch it from the 'Setup' link on the 'Help & FAQ' page, or simply access
+the wizard directly at http://localhost:7657/welcome{% endtrans %}
+
+|Can you find “Setup”?|
+
+{% trans %}Using the Wizard is straightforward, simply keep clicking “Next”. Sometimes
+M-Lab’s chosen measurement servers are down and the test fails. In such case,
+click “Previous” (do not use your web browser’s “back” button), then
+try it again.{% endtrans %}
+
+|Bandwidth Test Results|
+
+{% trans %}Running I2P continuously{% endtrans %}
+=================================================
+
+{% trans %}Even after adjusted the bandwidth, your connection might still be slow As I
+said, I2P is a P2P network. It will take some time for your I2P router to be
+discovered by other peers and integrated into the I2P network. If your router
+not up long enough to become well integrated, or if you shut down un-gracefully
+too often, the network will remain fairly slow. On the other hand, the longer
+you run your I2P router continuously, the faster and more stable your connection
+becomes, and more of your bandwidth share will be used in the network.{% endtrans %}
+
+{% trans %}However, many people might not be able to stay your I2P router up. In such
+case, you can still run the I2P router on a remote server such as VPS, then use
+SSH port forwarding.{% endtrans %}
+
+.. |Diagram of I2P Connection| image:: /_static/images/fullhops.png
+.. |I2P Bandwidth Configuration| image:: /_static/images/bandwidthmenu.png
+.. |Can you find “Setup”?| image:: /_static/images/sidemenu.png
+.. |Bandwidth Test Results| image:: /_static/images/bwresults.png
+