Date: Sun, 07 Jul 2002 14:00:57 -0700 From: Doug Barton <DougB@FreeBSD.org> To: doc@FreeBSD.org, markm@FreeBSD.org Subject: Another project: rndcontrol Message-ID: <3D28AC09.9AD48DF4@FreeBSD.org>
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[ cc'ing Mark out of the blue in case he has anything to add. :]
Folks,
I have another project suggestion if anyone is interested. BIND 9
requires that you have a fairly good supply of randomness available on
the system to do its work (which is actually a good thing) but one
problem our RELENG_4 users run into often is that without rand_irqs set
in their rc.conf[.local] they don't have enough. I could write up
something for the bind-users FAQ, but it would probably be nice if we
had a handbook/FAQ entry for the project that described this...
something else to drive traffic to the site. :)
An outline that covers what I would need is something to this effect:
1. Brief description of what a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) is,
and why it's needed.
2. Difference in RELENG_4 between /dev/random and /dev/urandom.
a. /dev/random == fairly good quality random bits,
IF it's properly seeded.
b. /dev/urandom always guaranteed to return "something"
3. What is rndcontrol?
4. How do I choose my irq's?
a. grep -i irq /var/run/dmesg.boot
b. Pick things like disks and ethernet
that have "random" activity
5. How do I set this up in /etc/rc.conf (rand_irqs).
6. In FreeBSD 5, we have yarrow instead.
a. link to Mark's paper on this
b. harvest_* already set to YES in /etc/defaults/rc.conf
c. /dev/random and /dev/urandom are now the same.
If anyone wants to take this on, please let me know... otherwise I'll
have to write it up myself, since the question comes up often on the
bind lists.
Thanks,
Doug
--
"We have known freedom's price. We have shown freedom's power.
And in this great conflict, ... we will see freedom's victory."
- George W. Bush, President of the United States
State of the Union, January 28, 2002
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