RND(9)

NAME
RND, rnd_attach_source, rnd_detach_source, rnd_add_data, rnd_add_data_intr, rnd_add_data_sync, rnd_add_uint32 - functions to make a device available for entropy collection

SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/rndsource.h>
typedef struct krndsource krndsource_t;
void
rndsource_setcb(krndsource_t *rnd_source, void (*callback)(size_t, void *), void *cookie);
void
rnd_attach_source(krndsource_t *rnd_source, char *devname, uint32_t source_type, uint32_t flags);
void
rnd_detach_source(krndsource_t *rnd_source);
void
rnd_add_data(krndsource_t *rnd_source, void *data, uint32_t len, uint32_t entropy);
void
rnd_add_data_intr(krndsource_t *rnd_source, void *data, uint32_t len, uint32_t entropy);
void
rnd_add_data_sync(krndsource_t *rnd_source, void *data, uint32_t len, uint32_t entropy);
void
rnd_add_uint32(krndsource_t *rnd_source, uint32_t datum);

DESCRIPTION
The RND functions enable drivers to collect samples of physical observations, such as network packet timings or hardware random number generator outputs, into a kernel entropy pool to derive key material for cprng(9) and rnd(4) (/dev/random, /dev/urandom).

Usage model:
1.  Allocate and zero a struct krndsource object before using the RND functions.
2.  Optionally, set a callback with rndsource_setcb() if appropriate, e.g. for an on-demand hardware random number generator.
3.  Attach the random source with rnd_attach_source().
4.  Enter data with rnd_add_data(), rnd_add_data_intr(), or rnd_add_uint32(), or, if in the callback, rnd_add_data_sync().
5.  When the driver is done, detach it with rnd_detach_source().

The following types of random sources are defined:
RND_TYPE_DISK
    Disk devices, typically sampling seek timings.
RND_TYPE_ENV
    Environmental sensors.
RND_TYPE_POWER
    Power sensors and timing of power-related events.
RND_TYPE_NET
    Network interfaces, typically sampling packet timings. By default, sample from network interfaces are ignored, for hysterical raisins.
RND_TYPE_RNG
    Hardware random number generators.
RND_TYPE_SKEW
    Skew between clocks.
RND_TYPE_TAPE
    Tape devices, typically sampling I/O timings.
RND_TYPE_TTY
    Tty devices, typically sampling interrupt timings.
RND_TYPE_VM
    Virtual memory fault timings.
RND_TYPE_UNKNOWN
    Unknown sources, or sources not otherwise classified.

FUNCTIONS

rndsource_setcb(rnd_source, callback, cookie)
    Sets a callback to be invoked when the entropy pool is hungry to draw data from this source on demand. Optional; if used, must be used before rnd_attach_source(), and the caller must pass RND_FLAG_HASCB to rnd_attach_source().

    The callback is invoked as callback(nbytes, cookie), where nbytes is the number of bytes requested for the entropy pool, and cookie is the cookie that was passed to rndsource_setcb(). The callback normally does one of two things:

    -   Sends a request to a hardware device for entropy and returns. The hardware will later return data asynchronously by an interrupt, and the callback will use rnd_add_data(), rnd_add_data_intr(), or rnd_add_uint32() to add the data to the pool.

    -   Synchronously gathers entropy from hardware — for example, by a CPU instruction like Intel RDSEED. In this case, in order to add data to the pool before returning, the callback must use rnd_add_data_sync(), not rnd_add_data(), rnd_add_data_intr() or rnd_add_uint32().

    RND issues calls to each source's callback in serial — it never issues two calls to the same source's callback at the same time in two different threads or on two different CPUs.

    The callback may be invoked in thread context or soft interrupt context, up to SOFTINT_SERIAL, and as such must follow the rules of soft interrupt handlers in softint(9) — that is, the callback must never sleep, except on adaptive mutex(9) locks at IPL_SOFTSERIAL. The callback will never be called in hard interrupt context.

rnd_attach_source(rnd_source, devname, type, flags)
    Makes rnd_source available for entropy collection. Must be called before the source struct pointed to by rnd_source is used in any of the following functions. If a callback was specified with rndsource_setcb(), the kernel may invoke it at any time after rnd_attach_source() until rnd_detach_source(), so the callback must be ready to be invoked before calling rnd_attach_source().

    The devname is exposed via rnd(4) and rndctl(8). The type must be one of the RND_TYPE_* constants above. The flags are the bitwise-or of any of the following constants:

    RND_FLAG_HASCB
        The random source has a callback, which must have been set with rndsource_setcb().

    RND_FLAG_COLLECT_TIME
        Enter the timing of each rnd_add_*() call into the entropy pool. If not set, at most only the data arguments to rnd_add_*() will be entered.

    RND_FLAG_COLLECT_VALUE
        Enter the data arguments passed to the rnd_add_*() functions into the pool. If not set, the data will be ignored; at most the timing of the sample will be entered.

    RND_FLAG_DEFAULT
        Equivalent to RND_FLAG_COLLECT_TIME | RND_FLAG_COLLECT_VALUE.

    RND_FLAG_ESTIMATE_TIME, RND_FLAG_ESTIMATE_VALUE
        Legacy options no longer used.

rnd_detach_source(rnd_source)
    Disconnects rnd_source from entropy collection. The kernel will cease to invoke the callback, if any, and the caller must not use rnd_source with any of the rnd_add_*() functions after rnd_detach_source(). The caller may release the memory for rnd_source afterward.

rnd_add_data(rnd_source, data, len, entropy)
    Enters len bytes at data into the entropy pool, if RND_FLAG_COLLECT_VALUE was specified for rnd_source, and a timestamp, if RND_FLAG_COLLECT_TIME was specified.

    The argument entropy provides a conservative estimate for the number of bits of entropy in the physical process that generated the data, given all the past samples. Drivers for devices for which this is not known should pass zero; typically only drivers for hardware random number generators pass nonzero values. Hardware random number generator drivers should perform on-line self-tests before advertising nonzero entropy for samples.

    rnd_add_data() must not be used during a callback as set with rndsource_setcb(); use rnd_add_data_sync() instead.

    rnd_add_data() must not be called from thread context with spin locks held.

    For compatibility, rnd_add_data() currently may but should not be called from interrupt context, possibly with spin locks held. However, this may be forbidden in the future; use rnd_add_data_intr() from interrupt context instead, if the work can't be usefully deferred to softint or thread.

rnd_add_data_intr(rnd_source, data, len, entropy)
    Tries to enter len bytes at data into the entropy pool like rnd_add_data(), but if this fills or would overflow a sample buffer, schedules a softint to process it and discards an unspecified subset of the data while counting zero entropy for the sample.

    rnd_add_data_intr() may be called from any context, including hard interrupt context, including contexts where spin locks are held, except that it must not be used during a callback as set with rndsource_setcb(); use rnd_add_data_sync() in that context instead.

rnd_add_data_sync(rnd_source, data, len, entropy)
    Like rnd_add_data(), but may be used in a callback as set with rndsource_setcb(). Must always be called in thread context.

rnd_add_uint32(rnd_source, datum)
    Equivalent to rnd_add_data_intr(rnd_source, &datum, 4, 0).

    rnd_add_uint32() may be called from any context, including hard interrupt context, including contexts where spin locks are held, except that it must not be used during a callback as set with rndsource_setcb(); use rnd_add_data_sync() in that context instead.

    rnd_add_uint32() is meant for cheaply taking samples from devices that aren't designed to be hardware random number generators.

FILES
These functions are declared in src/sys/sys/rndsource.h and defined in src/sys/kern/kern_entropy.c.

EXAMPLES

    struct xyz_softc {
    	...
    	struct krndsource	sc_rndsource;
    };
    static void
    xyz_attach(device_t parent, device_t self, void *aux)
    {
    	struct xyz_softc *sc = device_private(self);
    	...
    	rndsource_setcb(&sc->sc_rndsource, xyz_get, sc);
    	rnd_attach_source(&sc->sc_rndsource, device_xname(self),
    	    RND_TYPE_RNG, RND_FLAG_DEFAULT);
    }
    static int
    xyz_detach(device_t self, int flags)
    {
    	...
    	rnd_detach_source(&sc->sc_rndsource);
    	...
    	return 0;
    }
    static void
    xyz_get(size_t nbytes, void *cookie)
    {
    	struct xyz_softc *sc = cookie;
    	uint32_t v;
    	unsigned timo = 10;
    	while (nbytes) {
    		while (bus_space_read_4(sc->sc_bst, sc->sc_bsh,
    			XYZ_RNGREADY) == 0) {
    			if (--timo == 0)
    				return;
    			DELAY(10);
    		}
    		v = bus_space_read_4(sc->sc_bst, sc->sc_bsh,
    		    XYZ_RNGDATUM);
    		/* data sheet sez 18 bits entropy in 32-bit sample */
    		rnd_add_data_sync(&sc->sc_rndsource, &v, sizeof v, 18);
    		nbytes -= 18/NBBY;
    	}
    }
    static void
    xyz_intr(void *cookie)
    {
    	struct xyz_softc *sc = cookie;
    	uint32_t isr;
    	isr = bus_space_read_4(sc->sc_bst, sc->sc_bsh, XYZ_ISR);
    	bus_space_write_4(sc->sc_bst, sc->sc_bsh, XYZ_ISR, isr);
    	rnd_add_uint32(&sc->sc_rndsource, isr);
    	...
    }

SEE ALSO
rnd(4), rndctl(8), cprng(9)

HISTORY
The random device was introduced in NetBSD 1.3. It was substantially rewritten in NetBSD 6.0, and again in NetBSD 10.0.

AUTHORS
This implementation was written by Taylor R Campbell <riastradh@NetBSD.org>.