linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH] random: add blocking facility to urandom

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Date:	Thu, 8 Sep 2011 00:46:23 +0200 (CEST)
From:	Sven-Haegar Koch <haegar@...net.de>
To:	Steve Grubb <sgrubb@...hat.com>
cc:	Jarod Wilson <jarod@...hat.com>,
	Sasha Levin <levinsasha928@...il.com>,
	Ted Ts'o <tytso@....edu>, linux-crypto@...r.kernel.org,
	Matt Mackall <mpm@...enic.com>,
	Neil Horman <nhorman@...hat.com>,
	Herbert Xu <herbert.xu@...hat.com>,
	Stephan Mueller <stephan.mueller@...ec.com>,
	lkml <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>
Subject: Re: [PATCH] random: add blocking facility to urandom

On Wed, 7 Sep 2011, Steve Grubb wrote:

> On Wednesday, September 07, 2011 05:35:18 PM Jarod Wilson wrote:
> > Another proposal that has been kicked around: a 3rd random chardev, 
> > which implements this functionality, leaving urandom unscathed. Some 
> > udev magic or a driver param could move/disable/whatever urandom and put 
> > this alternate device in its place. Ultimately, identical behavior, but 
> > the true urandom doesn't get altered at all.
> 
> Right, and that's what I was trying to say is that if we do all that and switch out 
> urandom with something new that does what we need, what's the difference in just 
> patching the behavior into urandom and calling it a day? Its simpler, less fragile, 
> admins won't make mistakes setting up the wrong one in a chroot, already has the 
> FIPS-140 dressing, and is auditable.

I as a 0815 admin would never want such a thing by default.

I already replace /dev/random with /dev/urandom to keep stupid sshd from 
dying because there just is no entropy - I care more about all my 
services staying alive than about perfect random.

c'ya
sven-haegar

-- 
Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.
- Ben F.
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