ID: 304 PHID: PHID-TASK-lutszlhh4sapmus7rktd Author: Patrick Status at Migration Time: resolved Priority at Migration Time: Normal
Description
Do we need a systemd file for the Tor package?
Debian jessie’s version of Tor still comes with a sysvinit script. Additionally we have deb.torproject.org enabled (through the anon-shared-build-apt-sources-tpo package). The latter my sooner or later include a systemd unit file by The Tor Project.
If it was fancy, I don’ think we should ship systemd files for packages that come from Debian or The Tor Project that are still sysvinit based. There is simply too many old systemd unit files, just check /etc/init.d. Shipping such as systemd unit file inside Whonix just seems wrong. Those should be contributed upstream. They have a much deeper understanding of the package and if they add new systemd unit files it will get more broader review and testing. Why not just rely on systemd’s sysvinit script compatibility, that seems to work quite well for all the remaining stuff in /etc/init.d?
I feel very uncomfortable with Whonix shipping a systemd unit file for Tor if there is no strong reason to do so. As soon as upstream (Debian or The Tor Project) switches to systemd themselves, something during package upgrade could go wrong in conflict with Whonix’s specifics. When upstream releases a package upgrade, their maintainer scripts run without knowing whatever Whonix has cooked up. In worst case the package manager will be broken and the Tor service will no longer automatically start during that transition. For all users. Support hell.
I know, there is currently an issue in Whonix 11. On first boot, the Tor service won’t successfully start. That’s a bug that has yet to be analyzed. Likely caused by Whonix’s Tor config. Maybe a bug in Whonix’s Tor config or Tor itself. That requires a fix or workaround. Anyhow, I don’t think it’s right to not find out what’s going on and to simply add a systemd workaround while trading the risk of some day breaking Tor connection for all Whonix users.