Patent ID: 9575728
Date: 2017-02-21
CPC Classifications: G06F

Claim:
1. A method of improving random number generation security for a data processing system, comprising: receiving, at a storage subsystem, a first deliver a random number (DARN) operation from a processor core associated with the storage subsystem, wherein the processor core is included in a processing unit included among first processing units of a first processing cluster; in response to receiving the first DARN operation at the storage system, retrieving, by the storage subsystem, a first value from a first base address register (BAR) of the storage subsystem, wherein the first value corresponds to an address of an assigned random number generator (RNG) unit; issuing, by the storage subsystem, the first DARN operation with the first value on a first bus, wherein the first bus couples the first processing units to a first RNG unit; in response to issuing the first DARN operation on the first bus, receiving, by the processing unit, at least one of a first data and a first indication from the first RNG unit when a second value stored in a second BAR of the first RNG unit is the same as the first value, wherein at least one of the first data and the first indication specifies whether the first RNG unit is functional; and in response to the first value not being the same as the second value or the first RNG unit not being functional, issuing, by the storage subsystem, the first DARN operation with the first value on a second bus that couples the first processing units to a second processing cluster that includes second processing units and an associated second RNG unit.