From: "Allen Smith" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> easmith> > The 20 bytes minimum is the needed amount of seeding to get secure easmith> > enough random numbers from the pool. Each time you fetch random easmith> > bytes, the pool is remixed, thus providing for more random bytes. easmith> easmith> However, it would also be helpful for randomness _sources_ to easmith> know how much more randomness is needed. It can be a scarce easmith> resource, after all.
Uhmm, an exactly how should OpenSSL tell the sources how much more seeding it needs, except for actually reading that many bytes? easmith> > Unless you find it worrying that we ask of only 20 bytes minimum of easmith> > seeding, you should be without problems. easmith> easmith> Being able to check exactly how much has been seeded would also be easmith> helpful for applications for which one does _not_ regard 20 bytes as easmith> sufficient (e.g., key generation for large, long-term-used keys). That's what the "Unless ..." was about, I guess :-). -- Richard Levitte \ Spannvägen 38, II \ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Redakteur@Stacken \ S-168 35 BROMMA \ T: +46-8-26 52 47 \ SWEDEN \ or +46-733-72 88 11 Procurator Odiosus Ex Infernis -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Member of the OpenSSL development team: http://www.openssl.org/ Software Engineer, GemPlus: http://www.gemplus.com/ Unsolicited commercial email is subject to an archival fee of $400. See <http://www.stacken.kth.se/~levitte/mail/> for more info. ______________________________________________________________________ OpenSSL Project http://www.openssl.org Development Mailing List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Automated List Manager [EMAIL PROTECTED]