entropybroker

Entropy Broker is an infrastructure for distributing cryptographically secure random numbers (entropy data) from one or more servers to one or more clients. It allows you to distribute entropy data (random values) to /dev/random devices from other systems (real servers or virtualised systems). It helps preventing that the /dev/random device gets depleted; an empty /dev/random-device can cause programs to hang (waiting for entropy data to become available). This is useful for systems that need to generate encryption keys, run VPN software or run a casino website. Also virtual systems that have no good sources of entropy like virtual servers (e.g. VMware, XEN and KVM (although KVM has the virtio_rnd driver)). Entropy Broker is an infrastructure consisting of client-daemons that fill /dev/random and server-daemons that feed the central entropy broker-server. The server-daemons can gather random values by measuring timer frequency noise, analysing noise from a unused audio-device, noise from a video source (webcam, tv-card) and random values from a real hardware RNG (random number generator).