How To Install rng-tools5 on Ubuntu 18.04
Introduction
In this tutorial we learn how to install rng-tools5 on Ubuntu 18.04.
What is rng-tools5
rng-tools5 is:
The rngd daemon acts as a bridge between a Hardware TRNG (true random number generator) such as the ones in some Intel/AMD/VIA chipsets, and the kernel’s PRNG (pseudo-random number generator).
It tests the data received from the TRNG using the FIPS 140-2 (2002-10-10) tests to verify that it is indeed random, and feeds the random data to the kernel entropy pool.
This increases the bandwidth of the /dev/random device, from a source that does not depend on outside activity. This may improve the behavior of systems which experience low values in /proc/sys/kernel/random/entropy_avail It may also improve the quality (entropy) of the randomness of /dev/random.
A TRNG kernel module such as hw_random, or some other source of true entropy that is accessible as a device or fifo, is required to use this package. It will take advantage of the RDRAND and RDSEED instructions included in some Intel & AMD CPUs.
There are three methods to install rng-tools5 on Ubuntu 18.04. We can use apt-get, apt and aptitude. In the following sections we will describe each method. You can choose one of them.
Install rng-tools5 Using apt-get
Update apt database with apt-get using the following command.
sudo apt-get update
After updating apt database, We can install rng-tools5 using apt-get by running the following command:
sudo apt-get -y install rng-tools5
Install rng-tools5 Using apt
Update apt database with apt using the following command.
sudo apt update
After updating apt database, We can install rng-tools5 using apt by running the following command:
sudo apt -y install rng-tools5
Install rng-tools5 Using aptitude
If you want to follow this method, you might need to install aptitude first since aptitude is usually not installed by default on Ubuntu. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.
sudo aptitude update
After updating apt database, We can install rng-tools5 using aptitude by running the following command:
sudo aptitude -y install rng-tools5
How To Uninstall rng-tools5 on Ubuntu 18.04
To uninstall only the rng-tools5 package we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get remove rng-tools5
Uninstall rng-tools5 And Its Dependencies
To uninstall rng-tools5 and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Ubuntu 18.04, we can use the command below:
sudo apt-get -y autoremove rng-tools5
Remove rng-tools5 Configurations and Data
To remove rng-tools5 configuration and data from Ubuntu 18.04 we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get -y purge rng-tools5
Remove rng-tools5 configuration, data, and all of its dependencies
We can use the following command to remove rng-tools5 configurations, data and all of its dependencies, we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge rng-tools5
References
Summary
In this tutorial we learn how to install rng-tools5 package on Ubuntu 18.04 using different package management tools: apt, apt-get and aptitude.
