Re: [CryptoAPI-devel] dfc / util-linux rpms

[Herbert V. R. <hv...@hv...>]

On Mon, 2002-03-25 at 02:20, Ben Slusky wrote:
> Looking at the SRPM, it seems that you've added SHA1 password hashing
> into the old util-linux-cryptoapi patch. Now it occurs to me: maybe
> instead of tacking hash algorithms onto util-linux, we might be better
> off sending the unhashed password into kernelspace, and let cryptoloop
> do the hashing itself.
=20
> I can think of arguments for and against this. OOH, it seems like a
> bad idea to make the kernel do what can be (and is) done just fine in
> userspace. OTOH, we already have the digest algorithms in the kernel;
> it seems like a waste to recode them, especially in a _separate_ patch,
> and especially when the result is immediately handed off to cryptoloop.

well... an argument against would be; say you had a monolithic kernel;
then you'd have to carry around a digest implementation in kernel
memory, just because you needed it once when setting up your loop
device...

on the other hand, it's already a nasty issue w/ managing cipher modules
(i.e. some modules need to be loaded, before losetup can successfully
set up a loop... otherwise you'll get some weird message...)
if we add this digest dependancy as well, I expect more support requests
from confused users to come...

...oh and btw, I don't plan to add more hashes to util-linux :-)

regards,
--=20
Herbert Valerio Riedel       /    Phone: (EUROPE) +43-1-58801-18840
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