[onerng talk] Firmware validation fails randomly

[bsr]

On 3/3/21 12:12 PM, James Pond wrote:

> While trying to learn more about the device, I built a new feeder[1] based on the new onerng.sh script[2] which does pretty much the same thing as the original, but slightly different. I also call the script using a sandboxed systemd service[3] instead of udev, as the device is always connected to my monitor, which is connected to the workstation.
> 
> If I skip the firmware validation, everything works as expected, and I can both interface directly with the device to get data from it and see the entropy pool for the kernel increasing. However, if I chose not to skip validation, it will sometimes work and sometimes not, usually telling me "Short image" or something similar.
> 

"Short image" means you are getting no data whatsoever when trying to 
extract the image.  There have been some users that have had similar 
issues with fw failing validation (due to python bug? - I'm not sure) 
but I don't think "short image" is a message that typically results from 
those cases.

> Since I can get the error message and then get the verification to work a few minutes or hours later, with no clear reproduction step, I am wondering if it may be related to the device being connected to my monitor, which is a USB hub

Could be the reason - try plugging direct into a port and see if it 
resolves your issue.  Years ago I had a OneRNG plugged into a 3 ft. usb 
extension and had errors.  They disappeared after I removed the 
extension so give it a shot.

Also you have your device hard coded as ttyACM0 in your sandboxed 
service script.  OneRNG can be recognized as ttyACM0, ttyACM1, etc. - 
just an observation.