The [J7F4 mini-ITX
motherboard](http://www.jetwaycomputer.com/VIA3.html) that I got for
my home server has a VIA C7 processor. One of the feature of the
processor is the [PadLock Security
Engine](http://www.via.com.tw/en/initiatives/padlock/hardware.jsp)
with hardware RNG. This is especially useful on a server since they
are limited in entropy sources. Linux kernel has support for the VIA
hardware RNG in the `via_rng` module.
Next, install the `rng-utils` package with the rngd daemon. It
reads entropy from the hardware RNG, `/dev/hwrng`, and feeds it to the
kernel entropy pool for `/dev/random`.
Unfortunately, the package is missing an init.d script to start the
service (see [redhat bug
215371](https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=215371). The
`/etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit` actually has a commented-out line to start
rngd. Download the script from the bug and put it in
/etc/init.d/rngd. Add the service, `chkconfig –add rngd`, and start it, `service rngd start`.