Should I use sync or async crypto.randomBytes in web server app #457
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- Node.js Version: >= 4
- OS: any
- Scope: meta
- Module: crypto
crypto.randomBytes() has two signatures:
// sync
const buf = crypto.randomBytes(256);
// async
crypto.randomBytes(256, (err, buf) => {
if (err) throw err;
// ...
});My question is: Is it recommended to use the sync or the async version of crypto.randomBytes() in a web server application?
I'm guessing the answer will boil down to whether or not the sync version will block the process. I found this comment which suggests that the sync version will probably be "instant" when generating small amounts of bytes. So if I always generate, let's say 512 bytes or less, would it be best to use the sync version? Or perhaps even with a small amount of generated bytes the sync version isn't "fast enough" so it would still be better for latency/throughput to use the async version?
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bnoordhuis commentedon Jan 24, 2017
The synchronous version can block to acquire entropy (in theory - it's complicated.) If you want to play it safe, use the asynchronous version.
nwoltman commentedon Jan 25, 2017
Okay, thank you!