Is there a substitute available for PRNG /dev/random for Solaris x86?
Yes. /dev/random and /dev/random are pseudo-random number generators (PRNG). /dev/random will wait if the entropy pool of random bits is empty until more bits are available. /dev/urandom will not wait and may repeat bits. PRNGs are used to implement encryption software, such as GPG, OpenSSL, and OpenSSH. The /dev/*random pseudo-devices are available with Solaris 9, or, for Solaris 8, with patch 112439-01 for Intel Solaris. This patch is free and is part of the recommended patch cluster. Free PRNG substitutes include egd and prngd. Enthropy Gathering Daemon (egd), a /dev/random replacement, outputs randomness to a socket at ~/.gnupg/entropy. Pseudo Random Number Generator Daemon (prngd), a /dev/urandom replacement, outputs randomness to a socket at /var/run/egd-pool. Source and binary packages for these are available at http://www.sunfreeware.
Yes. /dev/random and /dev/random are pseudo-random number generators (PRNG). /dev/random will wait if the entropy pool of random bits is empty until more bits are available. /dev/urandom will not wait and may repeat bits. PRNGs are used to implement encryption software, such as GPG, OpenSSL, and OpenSSH. The /dev/*random pseudo-devices are available with Solaris 9, or, for Solaris 8, with patch 112439-01 for Intel Solaris. This patch is not free, however, as it requires a service contract. Free PRNG substitutes include egd and prngd. Enthropy Gathering Daemon (egd), a /dev/random replacement, outputs randomness to a socket at ~/.gnupg/entropy. Pseudo Random Number Generator Daemon (prngd), a /dev/urandom replacement, outputs randomness to a socket at /var/run/egd-pool. Source and binary packages for these are available at http://www.sunfreeware.
