Guides & extras

How to get the most from these guides

The guides above fall into a few loose groups, and reading them in a sensible order saves time. If you are new to network work, or new to the way this desk documents things, start with the Node Onboarding Guide and the Topology Diagram Kit. Onboarding explains the checks a node should pass before it carries real traffic. The diagram kit gives you a consistent visual language, so the maps you draw later match the ones published on the Network page.

Measure before you change anything

The Latency Benchmark Template works best when you use it early. Record a baseline before you change routing, add a peer or move a workload. Without a before-and-after comparison, a change that feels faster cannot be proven.

A few habits make benchmark numbers more useful:

• Run tests at several times of day, not just once.
• Note the test location and the path the traffic took.
• Report percentiles such as p50 and p95 alongside averages, because averages hide spikes.
• Keep the raw results so others can check your figures.

Security and API limits go together

The Security Audit Checklist and the API Rate Limit FAQ are closely linked. Rate limits protect shared infrastructure from accidental overload as well as from abuse. A good audit checks how your own tools behave when they hit a limit. Look for exponential backoff, sensible retry caps and clear logging, rather than scripts that hammer an endpoint until something breaks.

Community, research and people

The remaining guides cover the human side of the desk. The citation guidelines explain how to credit work featured in Research briefs. The hackathon and summit badge notes are for anyone planning to attend gatherings listed under Events. Always confirm dates and requirements with the organiser before you travel. The New York City transit notes are general orientation only. For service changes, the MTA's own apps and announcements are the reliable source.

Each guide is updated as practices change, so revisit the ones you rely on before starting a new project.