Re: [PATCH 2/4] uuid: implement uuid_generate_random_safe

["Ted Ts'o" <tytso@mit.edu>]

On Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 03:59:37PM +0200, Ludwig Nussel wrote:
> +int uuid_generate_random_safe(uuid_t out)
> +{
> +	int	num = 1;
> +	/* No real reason to use the daemon for random uuid's -- yet */

Note that amongst some distributions, there is a very strong
resistance against using the uuidd daemon.  Partially because it's
"yet another daemon", partially because any long-running daemon has to
get extra review/auditing because for potential security problems,
etc.

Also please note that there's only *one* user of the uuid library, the
proprietary SAP R/3 system, that generates enough uuids, and with a
high enough frequency, where "safety" has ever been an issue.  Most of
the time, people simply aren't generating uuid's at the rate of
thousands a second.  So I'm really not convinced it's a good idea to
assume that the uuidd daemon will *always* be installed, let alone be
running, and the wholesale deprecation of the existing interfaces
(which are compatible with interfaces used by a number of other
operating systems, BTW), just because there is this idea that the
exsting interfaces are "unsafe".  Really, they're not.

						- Ted