diff options
| author | Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> | 2026-08-23 13:28:57 -0700 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> | 2026-08-23 13:28:57 -0700 |
| commit | 4352b8aee98005853aa63f57d6377282de17a33f (patch) | |
| tree | 27614d7a9ef05c32d089004e104364ce42324837 /Documentation/admin-guide/hw_random.rst | |
| download | linux-stable-4352b8aee98005853aa63f57d6377282de17a33f.tar.gz linux-stable-4352b8aee98005853aa63f57d6377282de17a33f.zip | |
Merge tag 'i3c/for-7.3' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/i3c/linuxgrafted
Pull I3C updates from Alexandre Belloni:
"A new driver this cycle, for the AMD AXI I3C controller.
There are also new features such as IBI wakeup support, SETAASA device
discovery and ACPI support for the the DAA methods, meaning we can now
communicate with the SPD devices on DDR5 modules.
New driver:
- AMD AXI I3C master controller
Subsystem:
- I3C Common Command Code (CCC) handling improvements, especially
around GET CCCs
- SETAASA device discovery support
- ACPI support for all existing DAA methods like SETDASA, SETNEWDA as
well as I2C devices on I3C bus
- IBI-based wakeup support
Drivers:
- dw: SETAASA support
- mipi-i3c-hci: advertise IBI wakeup capability, AMD_PT I3C
controller support, PIO queue management support for HCI v1.2
- renesas: improve suspend to RAM support, add runtime PM support"
* tag 'i3c/for-7.3' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/i3c/linux: (70 commits)
i3c: dw: reduce do_daa time if there's no client
i3c: mipi-i3c-hci: Add support for AMD_PT I3C controller
i3c: mipi-i3c-hci: Add PIO queue management support for HCI v1.2
i3c: mipi-i3c-hci: Fix missing STAT_IBI_STATUS_THLD in PIO mode
i3c: dw: rename "pclk" to "apb" to match dt-binding
i3c: dw: make struct dw_i3c_cmd smaller
i3c: dw: use COMMAND_PORT_TRANSFER_ARG instead of hardcoding
i3c: renesas: Don't register devices when ENTDAA times out
i3c: master: dw-i3c-master: fix OD timing for first broadcast
i3c: mipi-i3c-hci: Advertise IBI wakeup capability
i3c: mipi-i3c-hci: Factor out i3c_hci_sysdev()
i3c: mipi-i3c-hci-pci: Propagate I3C wakeup requirements to PCI
i3c: master: Reject IBI requests from non-IBI-capable devices
i3c: master: Add helper to query bus wakeup requirements
i3c: master: Report wakeup events for IBIs
i3c: master: Support IBI-based wakeup capability
i3c: master: Fix potential UAF in i3c_device_match()
i3c: master: Fix potential UAF in i3c_device_uevent()
i3c: Make dev->desc locking assumptions explicit
i3c: master: Fix use-after-free of master->this
...
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/admin-guide/hw_random.rst')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/admin-guide/hw_random.rst | 104 |
1 files changed, 104 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/hw_random.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/hw_random.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..bfc39f1cf --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/hw_random.rst @@ -0,0 +1,104 @@ +================================= +Hardware random number generators +================================= + +Introduction +============ + +The hw_random framework is software that makes use of a +special hardware feature on your CPU or motherboard, +a Random Number Generator (RNG). The software has two parts: +a core providing the /dev/hwrng character device and its +sysfs support, plus a hardware-specific driver that plugs +into that core. + +To make the most effective use of these mechanisms, you +should download the support software as well. Download the +latest version of the "rng-tools" package from: + + https://github.com/nhorman/rng-tools + +Those tools use /dev/hwrng to fill the kernel entropy pool, +which is used internally and exported by the /dev/urandom and +/dev/random special files. + +Theory of operation +=================== + +CHARACTER DEVICE. Using the standard open() +and read() system calls, you can read random data from +the hardware RNG device. This data is NOT CHECKED by any +fitness tests, and could potentially be bogus (if the +hardware is faulty or has been tampered with). Data is only +output if the hardware "has-data" flag is set, but nevertheless +a security-conscious person would run fitness tests on the +data before assuming it is truly random. + +The rng-tools package uses such tests in "rngd", and lets you +run them by hand with a "rngtest" utility. + +/dev/hwrng is char device major 10, minor 183. + +CLASS DEVICE. There is a /sys/class/misc/hw_random node with +two unique attributes, "rng_available" and "rng_current". The +"rng_available" attribute lists the hardware-specific drivers +available, while "rng_current" lists the one which is currently +connected to /dev/hwrng. If your system has more than one +RNG available, you may change the one used by writing a name from +the list in "rng_available" into "rng_current". + +========================================================================== + + +Hardware driver for Intel/AMD/VIA Random Number Generators (RNG) + - Copyright 2000,2001 Jeff Garzik <jgarzik@pobox.com> + - Copyright 2000,2001 Philipp Rumpf <prumpf@mandrakesoft.com> + + +About the Intel RNG hardware, from the firmware hub datasheet +============================================================= + +The Firmware Hub integrates a Random Number Generator (RNG) +using thermal noise generated from inherently random quantum +mechanical properties of silicon. When not generating new random +bits the RNG circuitry will enter a low power state. Intel will +provide a binary software driver to give third party software +access to our RNG for use as a security feature. At this time, +the RNG is only to be used with a system in an OS-present state. + +Intel RNG Driver notes +====================== + +FIXME: support poll(2) + +.. note:: + + request_mem_region was removed, for three reasons: + + 1) Only one RNG is supported by this driver; + 2) The location used by the RNG is a fixed location in + MMIO-addressable memory; + 3) users with properly working BIOS e820 handling will always + have the region in which the RNG is located reserved, so + request_mem_region calls always fail for proper setups. + However, for people who use mem=XX, BIOS e820 information is + **not** in /proc/iomem, and request_mem_region(RNG_ADDR) can + succeed. + +Driver details +============== + +Based on: + Intel 82802AB/82802AC Firmware Hub (FWH) Datasheet + May 1999 Order Number: 290658-002 R + +Intel 82802 Firmware Hub: + Random Number Generator + Programmer's Reference Manual + December 1999 Order Number: 298029-001 R + +Intel 82802 Firmware HUB Random Number Generator Driver + Copyright (c) 2000 Matt Sottek <msottek@quiknet.com> + +Special thanks to Matt Sottek. I did the "guts", he +did the "brains" and all the testing. |
