How To Install RdRand on CentOS 8
Introduction
In this tutorial we learn how to install RdRand on CentOS 8.
What is RdRand
RdRand is an instruction for returning random numbers from an Intel on-chip hardware random number generator.RdRand is available in Ivy Bridge and later processors. It uses cascade construction, combining a HW RNG operating at 3Gbps with CSPRNG with all components sealed on CPU. The entropy source is a meta-stable circuit, with unpredictable behavior based on thermal noise. The entropy is fed into a 3 Online statistical tests are performed at this stage and only high quality random data are used as the seed for cryptograhically secure SP800-90 AES-CTR DRBG compliant PRNG. This generator is producing maximum of 512 128-bit AES blocks before it’s reseeded. According to documentation the 512 blocks is a upper limit for reseed, in practice it reseeds much more frequently.
We can use yum or dnf to install RdRand on CentOS 8. In this tutorial we discuss both methods but you only need to choose one of method to install RdRand.
Install RdRand on CentOS 8 Using dnf
Update yum database with dnf using the following command.
sudo dnf makecache --refresh
The output should look something like this:
CentOS Linux 8 - AppStream 43 kB/s | 4.3 kB 00:00
CentOS Linux 8 - BaseOS 65 kB/s | 3.9 kB 00:00
CentOS Linux 8 - ContinuousRelease 43 kB/s | 3.0 kB 00:00
CentOS Linux 8 - Extras 23 kB/s | 1.5 kB 00:00
CentOS Linux 8 - FastTrack 40 kB/s | 3.0 kB 00:00
CentOS Linux 8 - HighAvailability 36 kB/s | 3.9 kB 00:00
CentOS Linux 8 - Plus 24 kB/s | 1.5 kB 00:00
CentOS Linux 8 - PowerTools 50 kB/s | 4.3 kB 00:00
Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux Modular 8 - x86_64 13 kB/s | 9.2 kB 00:00
Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 8 - x86_64 24 kB/s | 8.5 kB 00:00
Metadata cache created.
After updating yum database, We can install RdRand using dnf by running the following command:
sudo dnf -y install RdRand
Install RdRand on CentOS 8 Using yum
Update yum database with yum using the following command.
sudo yum makecache --refresh
The output should look something like this:
CentOS Linux 8 - AppStream 43 kB/s | 4.3 kB 00:00
CentOS Linux 8 - BaseOS 65 kB/s | 3.9 kB 00:00
CentOS Linux 8 - ContinuousRelease 43 kB/s | 3.0 kB 00:00
CentOS Linux 8 - Extras 23 kB/s | 1.5 kB 00:00
CentOS Linux 8 - FastTrack 40 kB/s | 3.0 kB 00:00
CentOS Linux 8 - HighAvailability 36 kB/s | 3.9 kB 00:00
CentOS Linux 8 - Plus 24 kB/s | 1.5 kB 00:00
CentOS Linux 8 - PowerTools 50 kB/s | 4.3 kB 00:00
Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux Modular 8 - x86_64 13 kB/s | 9.2 kB 00:00
Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 8 - x86_64 24 kB/s | 8.5 kB 00:00
Metadata cache created.
After updating yum database, We can install RdRand using yum by running the following command:
sudo yum -y install RdRand
How To Uninstall RdRand on CentOS 8
To uninstall only the RdRand package we can use the following command:
sudo dnf remove RdRand
RdRand Package Contents on CentOS 8
/usr/bin/rdrand-gen
/usr/lib/.build-id
/usr/lib/.build-id/0e
/usr/lib/.build-id/0e/ffbbc02864014c3b7479e9a1abce1b2ec71c1d
/usr/lib/.build-id/5b
/usr/lib/.build-id/5b/54df508c585270fa53f2a1fed4f12ab7361890
/usr/lib64/librdrand.so.1
/usr/lib64/librdrand.so.1.0.2
/usr/share/doc/RdRand
/usr/share/doc/RdRand/COPYING
/usr/share/doc/RdRand/ChangeLog
/usr/share/doc/RdRand/NEWS
/usr/share/doc/RdRand/README
/usr/share/man/man7/rdrand-gen.7.gz
References
Summary
In this tutorial we learn how to install RdRand on CentOS 8 using yum and dnf.