summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/system/bit-babbler/README
blob: 81e5a69cbe30ea717e29ee8d7ad3bfcd4a208d98 (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
The BitBabbler is a hardware-based True Random Number generator
(TRNG).  It is offered in both "White" and "Black" varieties that are
functionally almost identical apart from throughput and cost.  This
package installs the software necessary to control and perform basic
health checks on connected BB devices.

After installing the package, "groupadd bit-babbler", or adjust
/etc/udev/rules.d/90-bit-babbler.rules to use an existing group (e.g.,
wheel or adm) that will have permissions for the BB devices in your
system.

Typically, you'll probably want your BitBabbler device(s) to start
feeding entropy to the kernel at boot.  Include these lines in
/etc/rc.d/rc.local:

# Start BitBabbler TRNG.
if [ -x /etc/rc.d/rc.seedd ]; then
   . /etc/rc.d/rc.seedd start
fi

It is also a good idea to stop your BB device from feeding entropy to
the kernel before capturing the random number seed on shutdown/reboot.
Put these lines in /etc/rc.d/rc.local_shutdown, which you'll need to
create if it doesn't already exist:

# Stop BitBabbler TRNG.
if [ -x /etc/rc.d/rc.seedd ]; then
   . /etc/rc.d/rc.seedd stop
fi