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Diffstat (limited to 'system/haveged/README')
| -rw-r--r-- | system/haveged/README | 21 |
1 files changed, 11 insertions, 10 deletions
diff --git a/system/haveged/README b/system/haveged/README index dee52968a6..187b3bdda9 100644 --- a/system/haveged/README +++ b/system/haveged/README @@ -2,17 +2,18 @@ haveged (a simple entropy-gathering daemon) The haveged project is an attempt to provide an easy-to-use, unpredictable random number generator based upon an adaptation of the HAVEGE algorithm. -Haveged was created to remedy low-entropy conditions in the Linux random device -that can occur under some workloads, especially on headless servers. +Haveged was created to remedy low-entropy conditions in the Linux random +device that can occur under some workloads, especially on headless servers. The HAVEGE algorithm is based upon the indirect effects of unrelated hardware -events on the instruction timing of a calculation that is sensitive to processor -features such as branch predictors and instruction/data access mechanisms. +events on the instruction timing of a calculation that is sensitive to +processor features such as branch predictors and instruction/data access +mechanisms. Samples from a high-resolution timer are input into the algorithm to produce a stream of random data in a collection buffer. The contents of this -buffer can be fed into the random device or accessed directly through the file -system. File system access is a useful alternative to those situations where -use of the random device is either inappropriate or not available. +buffer can be fed into the random device or accessed directly through the +file system. File system access is a useful alternative to those situations +where use of the random device is either inappropriate or not available. Add the following snippet to your /etc/rc.d/rc.M to start up haveged at boot: @@ -21,6 +22,6 @@ if [ -x /etc/rc.d/rc.haveged ]; then /etc/rc.d/rc.haveged start fi -You can see how many bits of entropy are available to the system by reading the -/proc/sys/kernel/random/entropy_avail file, and check the size of your entropy -pool at /proc/sys/kernel/random/poolsize. +You can see how many bits of entropy are available to the system by reading +the /proc/sys/kernel/random/entropy_avail file, and check the size of your +entropy pool at /proc/sys/kernel/random/poolsize. |