Simplified setup: Using SKLM with a certificate chain
Learn how to configure IBM® Security Key Lifecycle Manager (SKLM) in the simplified setup when you use a certificate chain from a certificate authority rather than a self-signed server certificate.
This topic describes the simplified method for setting up encryption with SKLM as the key server and with a certificate that is signed by a certificate authority (CA) on the KMIP port of the Remote Key Management (RKM) server. For more information about the simplified setup, see the topic Preparation for encryption.
If your deployment scenario uses a self-signed server certificate rather than a certificate chain, see one of the following topics:
- Simplified setup: Using SKLM with a self-signed certificate
- Regular setup: Using SKLM with a self-signed certificate
Note: IBM
Storage Scale supports IBM
Security Guardium Key Lifecycle Manager (GKLM) 4.1.0.1 (IF01),
4.1.1, or later. The older versions of GKLM are referred to as IBM Security Lifecycle Manager
or SKLM in the documentation. The configuration information is the same for both GKLM and
SKLM.
The
simplified setup with SKLM requires IBM Storage Scale Advanced Edition,
IBM Storage Scale Data Management Edition, or IBM Storage Scale Developer Edition or
IBM Storage Scale Erasure Code Edition4.2.1 or later and a supported
version of SKLM. For more information, see Preparation for encryption.Note: If you are using SKLM 2.7 or later, see the topic
Configuring encryption with SKLM 2.7 or later.
The
following requirements must be met on every IBM
Storage Scale node that participates in encryption:
- The node must have direct network access to the system where the key server is installed.
- The security-sensitive files that are created during the configuration process must have the
following characteristics:
- They must be regular files that are owned by the root user.
- The group ownership must be changed to root group.
- They must be readable and writable only by the user (mode '0600'). See the following
examples:
-rw-------. 1 root root 2454 Mar 20 10:32 /var/mmfs/ssl/keyServ/RKM.conf drw-------. 2 root root 4096 Mar 20 11:15 /var/mmfs/ssl/keyServ/ -rw-------. 1 root root 3988 Mar 20 11:15 /var/mmfs/ssl/keyServ/keystore_name.p12
Note: In the simplified setup, the mmkeyserv command sets the permission bits automatically.
- The RKM.conf file. For more information about this file, see The RKM.conf file and the RKM stanza.
- The files in the client keystore directory, which include the keystore file, the public and
private key files for the client, and possibly other files. For more information about these files,
see The client keystore directory and its files.Note: In the simplified setup, the mmkeyserv command automatically creates and distributes the RKM.conf files and the files in the client keystore directory to every node in the cluster. The files are located in the following directory on each node:
/var/mmfs/ssl/keyServ
CAUTION:- Take appropriate precautions to ensure that the security-sensitive files are not lost or corrupted. IBM Storage Scale does not manage or replicate the files.
- Ensure that the passphrase for the client certificate file is not leaked through other means, such as the shell history.
- Client keystore files must be record-locked when the GPFS daemon starts. If the keystore files are stored on an NFS mount, the encryption initialization process can hang. The cause is a bug that affects the way NFS handles record locking. If you encounter this problem, upgrade your version of NFS or store your keystore file on a local file system. If an upgrade is not possible and no local file system is available, use a RAM drive to store the keystore files.
The setup procedure is greatly simplified by the use of the mmkeyserv command,
which automates many of the tasks that must be done manually in the regular setup:
- Creating and configuring client credentials.
- Creating a device group and master encryption keys in the RKM server.
- Creating and updating RKM.conf configuration files.
- Retrieving server certificates from the RKM server and storing them in client keystores.
- Propagating configuration information and client credentials to every node in the cluster.
See the following subtopics for instructions:
Part 1: Installing and configuring SKLM
Follow the instructions in this subtopic to install and configure SKLM on the RKM server.
Part 2: Configuring SKLM
To configure SKLM, you must create a certificate signing request
(CSR), send it to the certificate authority (CA), obtain the certificate chain from the CA, and
import the endpoint certificate into the SKLM server.
Note: For more information about the
steps in this subtopic, see Scenario: Request for a third-party certificate in IBM Security Guardium Key Lifecycle Manager documentation.
Part 3: Configuring the cluster for encryption
Gather the following information:
- The logon password of the
SKLMAdmin
administrator - The certificate chain of the SKLM server
The following table provides a high-level overview of the configuration process. The steps
in the table correspond to the steps in the procedure that begins immediately after the table.
Step | Actions |
---|---|
1 | Verify the direct network connection between the IBM Storage Scale node and the SKLM server. |
2 | Add the SKLM key server to the configuration. |
3 | Add a tenant to the key server. |
4 | Create a key client. |
5 | Register the key client to the tenant. |
6 | Create a master encryption key in the tenant. |
7 | Set up an encryption policy in the cluster. |
8 | Test the encryption policy. |
Part 4: Adding a node to the cluster
When you add a node to a cluster that is configured by the simplified setup, the cluster
automatically detects the new node and copies the encryption configuration to it. For other
requirements, see the Requirements section earlier in the topic.