To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
From: Gunter Ohrner <G.Ohrner@post.rwth-aachen.de>
Subject: Re: Entropy Pool Contents
Date: Thu, 23 Nov 2006 22:34:43 +0100
Message-ID: <ek546d$icj$1@sea.gmane.org>
References: <ek2nva$vgk$1@sea.gmane.org> <20061123205436.GA16440@csclub.uwaterloo.ca>
Reply-To: G.Ohrner@post.rwth-aachen.de
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Lennart Sorensen wrote:
> Only some devices/drivers generate entropy data.  Some network drivers,

Yes, I know, but block device operations should, and directly feeding data
into /dev/*random, as I did, definitely should.

This machine usually has only very limited entropy available, but the pool
currently seeems to bee stuck at "0" - there's no way to get it to even
display a slightly different number. That's what confused me pretty much...

Normally doing disk IO helps a bit, but it currently does not at all.

> pcnet32 and the 8250 driver to generate entropy since otherwise I tended
> to run out very quickly.

I guess I also should do that - as this machine has several network cards on
different networks, that will be definiteely more seecure than running with
a completely empty entropy pool stuck at zero bits for several days in a
row...

Greetings,

  Gunter

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