Content
OSOLESCENCE NOTICE. As of 1. September 2005 we stoped the production of HG324. Please refer to our product page for a new generation of non-deterministic random number generators HG400. Thank you !
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- Main characteristics
- What is it used for
- Statistical and EM & EST tests
- Why is it random ?
- How is it connected to a computer ?
- What hardware and software do I get ?
- Can I have some hardware generated random bits without buying ?
- Only the facts (summary)
- Prices & Shipping
- Additional software & Software on request
- Complete Users' Manual
Main characteristics
HG324 is a quad non-deterministic physical random bit
generator of the
new generation, capable
of delivering bits at unpreceded rates of up to 1 200 000 bit/sec .
HG324 is easily connected to most computers and other hardware.
The probability of ones p(1) for this generator is very close to
one-half, and correlations among bits are neglgble.
Careful manufacturing of each unit keeps
the bias at the lowest possible level.
The absoulte difference |p(1) - 0.5| is smaller
than 1 x 10E-11 for all units.
To illustrate how small its bias is, it would be necessary to generate 10 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 bits (1 x 10E+22) in order to effectively measure the bias as a 3 sigma effect. This would take 246 millions of years of running of HG324 at the full speed !
What is it used for ?
Very good quality of randomness combined with an extremly small bias makes HG324 generator suitable for any purpose: from educational, scientific, Monte Carlo simulation, lottery and massive key, password or pin/tan bank numbers generation to most requiring mathematics and scientific modeling and cryptography.
The software that comes with HG324 readily makes possible to simulate n-sided dice throws or produce random double-precision real numbers in any interval (see the Software section).
Statistical and EM & EST tests
HG324 has been tested for:
- randomness;
- sensitivity to external electromagnetic field.
HG324 also conforms to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recomendation for cryptographic random bit generators and passes NIST's STS randomness test suite with flying colors. Here are the test results of a very long (100 000 000 bytes) random sequence.
Without any high-gain circuitry and with its good EM/ETS shielding HG324 is quite insensitive to electromagnetic disturbances. It has been tested in two ways: with a GSM mobitel transmitting 5 cm away from it, and at 5 cm from aperture of a 5W 1MHz transmitter coil, amplitude modulated with 50 Hz sinusoid. In either case produced files of 1 000 000 bytes were completely random, according to the ENT battery of standard tests.
This results make HG324 the best generator on the market.
On top of that, HG324 is faster than any commensurable concurent non-deterministic generator on the market. In is important to note that most even nearly that fast generators use shadowing or re-seeding of a pseudo-random generator in order to improve the quality and/or "speed up" bit production by expanding the actually generated bit volume by software. This is not good enough for some purposes including cryptography because entropy CAN NOT be augmented by pseudo-random procedures (software).
Why is it random ?
A trully random sequence of bits (numbers) produced by a non-deterministic generator should have the following properties:
- 1. A random seqence of bits must be unpredictable, that is, knowing any number of previously defined bits it should not possible to forsee, with absolute certainty, the next bit or bits;
- 2. The number of ones should approach number of zeros as the length of the sequence tends to infinity, that is the a priory probability of ones should be equal to 1/2;
- 3. A long sequence of random bits should not be losslesly compressable by any known or unknown technique. That is, a long random sequence should not be descriobable by any sequence of bits shorter than the original sequence.
Pseudo-random generators (i.e. generators that can be built in software alone) are best in satisfying 2, but they definitely never satisfy 3. Namely, a sequence of pseudo-random bits, no matter how long, can be completely described by only a seed and a description of the generating algorithm - information which usually amounts no more that a few hundreds of bits. Furthermore, some important classes of pseudo-random generators have been cryptanalized, meaning that given a large enough portion of a sequence one may calculate all the rest of it ! This makes them unusable in some cryptographic applications, lottery, banking TAN numbers, prepaid PIN numbers etc. and renders them dangerous for use in some others.
Opposed to that, the HG324 random bit generator relies on extracting randomness from an intrinsically random physical process in semiconductor diodes. Namely, a Zener diode operated in a special circuit and under convinient conditions can produce a small amount of abruptly changing current which occurs as a result of so called "voltage breakdown". This erratic process is governed by laws of Quantum Physics and is completely unpredictable and random in its nature. It produces a small voltage variation across the diode which is extracted via AC coupling and amplified to achieve a large amplitude noise. The noise is then used to controll, via an inovative, proprietary technique a logic circuitry, which upon a request produces either 0 (logic zero) or 1 (logic one) at its output.
A rough schematic diagram of the HG324 type generator is
shown below:
How is it connected to a computer or other hardware ?
HG324 is most easily connected to a parallel or serial port of an IBM compatible personal computer (PC). To operate HG324 you don't need to know the name or address of the port to which it is plugged in. The software that comes with the unit scans through all valid ports and when the unit is found, it establishes connection to it.
The unit itself is intended for direct plug into the parallel port. A special 25 to 9 pin adaptor (optional) makes possible to plug the unit into a serial port. Rather than drawing the current from the PC port, HG324 comes with its own wall socket cube adapter which delivers the necessary supply power. This allows stable operation of the generator regardless of the PC hardware used. It also permits standalone operation or use of the generator in a different setup.
It is easy to read out HG324 also in a non-PC environment, for example by a PIC. HG324 has one "Request" pin and four output pins. The pin layout and extraction procedure are part of the software distributed with the product. The HG324 does not require RS232 interface.
What hardware and software do I get ?
HG324 comes in a package which consists of the generator, adapter for
powering the generator (input voltage: 100-240VAC, 50-60Hz)
and all the software necessary to test the unit,
download random bits into a file, view random numbers as points in
plane and a few
programs to perform statistical tests on generated bits.
Software programs and drivers are available for: Linux >= 2.2.0 and MS-DOS, MS-Windows 3x/95/98/NT4/2000NT/XP running on IBM PC compatible.
Can I have some hardware generated random bits without buying ?
Yes, you can ! Please, go to our FreshBits service which delivers random bits generated by one HG324 unit upon your request.
Only the facts (summary)
| min | typ | max | |
| Bias: | < 1E-11 | 5E-11 | |
| Serial autocorelation: | < 0.000 010 | 0.000 100 | |
| Entropy: | > 0.999 999 | ||
| Bitrate (parallel port): | 1 200 000 bit/sec | 1 250 000 bits/sec | |
| Bitrate (serial port): | 1 200 000 bit/sec | ||
| Bitrate (DOS drivers): | > 750 000 bit/sec | ||
| Consumption @ 5V: | 45 mA | 50 mA | |
| Consumption @ 12V: | 6.8 mA | 7.5 mA | |
| Power requirements: | 100 VAC @ 50-60 Hz | 240 VAC @ 50-60 Hz | |
| Operating temperature: | 0 deg. Celsius | 70 deg. Celsius | |
| Humidity: | 0 | 90% (non condensating) | |
| Weight (generator/full): | 60 / 360 g |
Quoted bitrates are under Linux and 32 bit drivers for Win98/Me/2000/Xp and is virtually independent of the PC speed for at least Pentium 133 MHz based PC's or better.
Prices & Shipping
The basic HG324 complet costs 249 EUR and consists of the generator, adapter for powering the generator (input voltage: 100-240VAC, 50-60Hz), a parallel port extension jack and the disk containing the software and the manual.
Optional serial port adaptor costs 6 EUR .
These prices do not include shipping costs.
For shipping the goods to you we prefer FedEx rapid mail service. Prices for shipping one HG324 complet are as follows:
| Europe + UK: | 60 US$ |
| North America & Canada: | 60 US$ |
| South America: | 65 US$ |
| Australia: | 75 US$ |
| Asia: | 70 US$ |
| Qty | HG324 Basic (unit price) | HG324 Full (unit price) | Total postage to US | Total postage to EU/UK |
| 1 | 249 EUR | 255 EUR | 60 EUR | 60 EUR |
| 2 | 239 EUR | 245 EUR | 70 EUR | 70 EUR |
| 3 | 229 EUR | 235 EUR | 80 EUR | 80 EUR |
| 4 | 219 EUR | 225 EUR | 85 EUR | 85 EUR |
| 5 | 219 EUR | 225 EUR | 95 EUR | 95 EUR |
| 6 | 219 EUR | 225 EUR | 100 EUR | 100 EUR |
| 7 | 219 EUR | 225 EUR | 105 EUR | 105 EUR |
| 8 | 219 EUR | 225 EUR | 105 EUR | 105 EUR |
| 9 | 219 EUR | 225 EUR | 115 EUR | 115 EUR |
| 10 | 209 EUR | 215 EUR | 120 EUR | 120 EUR |
Shipping prices are subject to change by FedEx. Please check them with us before paying. For infomarion on payment modes, the shipping prices to other parts of the world and/or for orders greater than 10 HG324 complets, please check contact our sales department e-mail.
Additional software & Software on request
Optionally, you may wish to obtain our PowerTest collection of statistical randomness tests, intented for a detailed analyze and selection of random number sequences.
Other software products that exploit HG324, such as PIN generating package PinGen are available (please check the product page).
Users' Manual
You can access the complete Users Manual from here.
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