linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] CPU Jitter RNG: inclusion into kernel crypto API and /dev/random

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Date:	Sat, 2 Nov 2013 12:12:24 +0100
From:	Pavel Machek <pavel@....cz>
To:	Stephan Mueller <smueller@...onox.de>
Cc:	Theodore Ts'o <tytso@....edu>,
	sandy harris <sandyinchina@...il.com>,
	linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org, linux-crypto@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH] CPU Jitter RNG: inclusion into kernel crypto API and
 /dev/random

On Sat 2013-11-02 12:01:12, Pavel Machek wrote:
> Hi!
> 
> > >sense of where the unpredictability might be coming from, and whether
> > >the unpredictability is coming from something which is fundamentally
> > >arising from something which is chaotic or quantum effect, or just
> > >because we don't have a good way of modelling the behavior of the
> > >L1/L2 cache (for example) and that is spoofing your entropy estimator.
> > 
> > Please note: if the jitter really comes from the oscillator effect of 
> > the RAM clock vs. the CPU clock (which I suspect), we will not be able 
> > to alter the jitter software wise.
> 
> Well... if it is really oscillator effect, there should be _no_
> entropy when running with L1/L2 enabled (because DRAM will not be
> accessed at all at that case).
> 
> There should be way to extract entropy more directly from various
> oscillator effects, no?

Actually... bogomips calibrating loop already has jitter, measured
from difference between CPU clock and system clock... Could that be
used as entropy source? As a bonus, we should have it on most
platforms...
								Pavel
-- 
(english) http://www.livejournal.com/~pavelmachek
(cesky, pictures) http://atrey.karlin.mff.cuni.cz/~pavel/picture/horses/blog.html
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