Is there a substitute available for PRNG /dev/random for Solaris x86?
Yes./dev/random and /dev/random are pseudo-random number generators (PRNG).
/dev/random will wait if the entropy pool of random bits is empty until
more bits are available. /dev/urandom will not wait and may repeat bits.
PRNGs are used to implement encryption software,
such as GPG, OpenSSL, and OpenSSH.
The /dev/*random pseudo-devices are available with Solaris 9, or,
for Solaris 8, with patch 112439-01 for Intel Solaris.
This patch is not free, however, as it requires a service contract.
Free PRNG substitutes include egd and prngd.
Enthropy Gathering Daemon (egd), a /dev/random replacement,
outputs randomness to a socket at ~/.gnupg/entropy.
Pseudo Random Number Generator Daemon (prngd),
a /dev/urandom replacement,
outputs randomness to a socket at /var/run/egd-pool.
Source and binary packages for these are available at
http://www.sunfreeware.com/
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