Re: IRQF_SAMPLE_RANDOM question...

Chris Peterson
2009-04-07T21:39:22Z

1. Are there any new add_*_randomness() functions that could be added?
Some userspace daemons like EGD (running as root) feed random system
info (e.g. vmstat) into /dev/random. But how many Linux distros
actually run entropy-gathering daemons by default? Would /dev/random
be more secure if entropy-gathering daemons were replaced with new
kernel functions like add_vmstat_randomness() or add_ps_randomness()?

2. Are there any other functions that could be calling the existing
add_*_randomness() functions? Currently:

* add_input_randomness() is called from input_event().
* add_interrupt_randomess() is called from handle_IRQ_event() if
IRQF_SAMPLE_RANDOM is set.
* add_disk_randomness() is called from blk_end_io() and __blk_end_request().