[Discuss] How do I add entropy?

[tmetro+blu at gmail.com (Tom Metro)]

Bill Horne wrote:
> However, GPG says I need more entropy...

I'd expect that to appear if it has only been a short while (a few
hours) since the system booted up. Out of curiosity, how long had it
been since you booted?

I'd recommend doing nothing special, other than using the system
normally, and keeping it running for a day, then try again. Keep trying
every 24 hours, and report back when GPG reported adequate entropy. I'd
be surprised if it wasn't happy after the first day.

Canonical has created a service that lets freshly booted machines
(usually VM instances) to obtain entropy immediately.


> ...how does Linux gather entropy...

The other replies seemed to speculate as to what the kernel is using as
the source. It shouldn't be that hard to track that down, and would be
worth adding to this thread as a point of information. So I encourage
you to do that research.

 -Tom

-- 
Tom Metro
The Perl Shop, Newton, MA, USA
"Predictable On-demand Perl Consulting."
http://www.theperlshop.com/