Documentation inconsistency -- On-Disk Format
I just noticed that in the LUKS On-Disk Format Specification document 1.2.1
http://wiki.cryptsetup.googlecode.com/git/LUKS-standard/on-disk-format.pdf
the LUKS key slots are numbered 1-8, whereas all the tools number them 0-7. That makes communication difficult.
Signature · 2 lines
Bob Nichols "NOSPAM" is really part of my email address.
Do NOT delete it.Quoted 3 lines · Robert Nichols
I just noticed that in the LUKS On-Disk Format Specification document 1.2.1
http://wiki.cryptsetup.googlecode.com/git/LUKS-standard/on-disk-format.pdf
the LUKS key slots are numbered 1-8, whereas all the tools number them 0-7.
It is just for "historic" reasons. I can fix it in documentation but old documentation is still in place (it is installed e.g. as docs in various distros). It could make the problem even worse.
(And changing tools means breaking user scripts which is even worse.)
It is not the first standard which uses pseudo-code description while real implementation differs in details.
Quoted 1 line
That makes communication difficult.
I do not think so. When dealing with users problem always the tool output is important. The slot offsets depends on key size so you must have always proper luksDump output for the device.
Milan
Quoted 14 lines · Milan Broz
Quoted 3 lines · Robert Nichols
I just noticed that in the LUKS On-Disk Format Specification document 1.2.1
http://wiki.cryptsetup.googlecode.com/git/LUKS-standard/on-disk-format.pdf
the LUKS key slots are numbered 1-8, whereas all the tools number them 0-7.It is just for "historic" reasons. I can fix it in documentation but old documentation is still in place (it is installed e.g. as docs in various distros). It could make the problem even worse.
(And changing tools means breaking user scripts which is even worse.)
It is not the first standard which uses pseudo-code description while real implementation differs in details.
Quoted 7 lines
Quoted 1 line
That makes communication difficult.
I do not think so. When dealing with users problem always the tool output is important. The slot offsets depends on key size so you must have always proper luksDump output for the device.
Milan
I would also not change the tools. And FAQ Item 6.12 provides an alternate reference with numbering 0-7 and all offsets in hex and dec. I also do not think changing the spec is needed.
Arno
Quoted 6 lines
_______________________________________________
dm-crypt mailing list
[email protected]
http://www.saout.de/mailman/listinfo/dm-crypt
Signature · 7 lines
Arno Wagner, Dr. sc. techn., Dipl. Inform., Email: [email protected] GnuPG: ID: CB5D9718 FP: 12D6 C03B 1B30 33BB 13CF B774 E35C 5FA1 CB5D 9718 ---- A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers. -- Plato If it's in the news, don't worry about it. The very definition of "news" is "something that hardly ever happens." -- Bruce Schneier
So far, this has not been a real problem. You can also refer to FAQ Item 6.12 to get the 0-7 numbering with offset in hex and decimal.
Arno
Quoted 13 lines · Robert Nichols
I just noticed that in the LUKS On-Disk Format Specification document 1.2.1
http://wiki.cryptsetup.googlecode.com/git/LUKS-standard/on-disk-format.pdf
the LUKS key slots are numbered 1-8, whereas all the tools number them 0-7. That makes communication difficult.Signature · 7 lines
Bob Nichols "NOSPAM" is really part of my email address. Do NOT delete it. _______________________________________________ dm-crypt mailing list [email protected] http://www.saout.de/mailman/listinfo/dm-crypt
Signature · 7 lines
Arno Wagner, Dr. sc. techn., Dipl. Inform., Email: [email protected] GnuPG: ID: CB5D9718 FP: 12D6 C03B 1B30 33BB 13CF B774 E35C 5FA1 CB5D 9718 ---- A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers. -- Plato If it's in the news, don't worry about it. The very definition of "news" is "something that hardly ever happens." -- Bruce Schneier