Message-ID: <4243290F.2000208@pobox.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2005 15:54:39 -0500
From: Jeff Garzik <jgarzik@pobox.com>
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To: David McCullough <davidm@snapgear.com>
CC: johnpol@2ka.mipt.ru, cryptoapi@lists.logix.cz,
       linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org, linux-crypto@vger.kernel.org,
       Andrew Morton <akpm@osdl.org>, James Morris <jmorris@redhat.com>,
       Herbert Xu <herbert@gondor.apana.org.au>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] API for true Random Number Generators to add entropy
 (2.6.11)
References: <20050315133644.GA25903@beast> <20050324042708.GA2806@beast> <1111665551.23532.90.camel@uganda> <4242B712.50004@pobox.com> <20050324132342.GD7115@beast>
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David McCullough wrote:
> Jivin Jeff Garzik lays it down ...
> 
>>Evgeniy Polyakov wrote:
>>
>>>On Thu, 2005-03-24 at 14:27 +1000, David McCullough wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Hi all,
>>>>
>>>>Here is a small patch for 2.6.11 that adds a routine:
>>>>
>>>>	add_true_randomness(__u32 *buf, int nwords);
>>>>
>>>>so that true random number generator device drivers can add a entropy
>>>>to the system.  Drivers that use this can be found in the latest release
>>>>of ocf-linux,  an asynchronous crypto implementation for linux based on
>>>>the *BSD Cryptographic Framework.
>>>>
>>>>	http://ocf-linux.sourceforge.net/
>>>>
>>>>Adding this can dramatically improve the performance of /dev/random on
>>>>small embedded systems which do not generate much entropy.
>>>
>>>
>>>People will not apply any kind of such changes.
>>>Both OCF and acrypto already handle all RNG cases - no need for any kind
>>>of userspace daemon or entropy (re)injection mechanism.
>>>Anyone who want to use HW randomness may use OCF/acrypto mechanism.
>>>For example here is patch to enable acrypto support for hw_random.c
>>>It is very simple and support only upto 4 bytes request, of course it
>>>is 
>>>not interested for anyone, but it is only 2-minutes example:
>>
>>If you want to add entropy to the kernel entropy pool from hardware RNG, 
>>you should use the userland daemon, which detects non-random (broken) 
>>hardware and provides throttling, so that RNG data collection does not 
>>consume 100% CPU.
>>
>>If you want to use the hardware RNG directly, it's simple:  just open 
>>/dev/hw_random.
>>
>>Hardware RNG should not go kernel->kernel without adding FIPS tests and 
>>such.
> 
> 
> For reference,  the RNG on the Safenet I am using this with is
> FIPS140 certified.  I believe the HIFN part  is also but I place the doc that
> says so.


FIPS certification is not relevant to the discussion.

I am talking about active testing of -all data- that is produced by an 
RNG, before making use of it.  Please read the source code of rngd.

	Jeff


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