Many of you know that the random number generator /dev/random is subject to delays when it has "not accumulated enough entropy", which is to say randomness. These delays are said to be longer on Linux /dev/random that on some other Unices. They occur particularly after a system is booted, which I hear is a regular occurrence on some smoke-test systems.
But I bet many of you will be surprised by the magnitude of the delays that can occur. Recently one perl tester's Linux system tested my module IPC::MMA version 0.58, which used /dev/random to drive testing, to produce report 5888084. It took 22320 wallclock seconds to complete the tests: 6.2 hours. A few days later the same system tested version 0.58001, which differs from 0.58 mainly in using /dev/urandom which is not subject to "entropy delays". Report 5889682 shows that it took 5 wallclock seconds. Anyway, I found it interesting, Craig MacKenna
