NAME

       OPENSSL_instrument_bus, OPENSSL_instrument_bus2 - instrument references to memory bus

SYNOPSIS

        #ifdef OPENSSL_CPUID_OBJ
        size_t OPENSSL_instrument_bus (int *vector,size_t num);
        size_t OPENSSL_instrument_bus2(int *vector,size_t num,size_t max);
        #endif

DESCRIPTION

       It was empirically found that timings of references to primary memory are subject to irregular,
       apparently non-deterministic variations. The subroutines in question instrument these references for
       purposes of gathering entropy for random number generator. In order to make it bus-bound a 'flush cache
       line' instruction is used between probes. In addition probes are added to vector elements in atomic or
       interlocked manner, which should contribute additional noise on multi-processor systems. This also means
       that vector[num] should be zeroed upon invocation (if you want to retrieve actual probe values).

       OPENSSL_instrument_bus performs num probes and records the number of oscillator cycles every probe took.

       OPENSSL_instrument_bus2 on the other hand accumulates consecutive probes with the same value, i.e. in a
       way it records duration of periods when probe values appeared deterministic. The subroutine performs at
       most max probes in attempt to fill the vector[num], with max value of 0 meaning "as many as it takes."

RETURN VALUE

       Return value of 0 indicates that CPU is not capable of performing the benchmark, either because
       oscillator counter or 'flush cache line' is not available on current platform. For reference, on x86
       'flush cache line' was introduced with the SSE2 extensions.

       Otherwise number of recorded values is returned.

1.0.2g                                             2016-03-01                       OPENSSL_instrument_bus(3SSL)