DR Series Software 3.2.6 - Administrator Guide

Key Management — In internal mode there is a maximum limit of 1023 keys. By default when encryption is enabled on the system, the key rotation period is set to 30 days. Users can later change the key rotation period from 7 days to 70 years, while configuring internal mode of encryption.

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Performance Impacts — Encryption should have minimal to zero impact on both backup and restore workflows.

It should also have no impact on the replication workflows.

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Replication — Encryption must be enabled on both the source and target DR Series systems to store encrypted data on the systems. This means that encrypted data on the source does not automatically imply that when it is replicated to the target it will be encrypted unless encryption is explicitly turned ‘ON’ on the target DR Series system.

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Seeding — Encryption must be enabled on both the source and target DR Series systems to store encrypted data on the systems. If seeding is configured for encryption, then the data will be re-encrypted and stored. When the data stream is imported onto the target from the seed device, the stream will be encrypted as per the target policy and stored.

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Security Considerations for Passphrase and Key Management —

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A passphrase is very important part of the encryption process on the DR Series system as the passphrase is used to encrypt the content encryption key or keys. If the passphrase is compromised or lost, the administrator should change it immediately so that the content encryption keys do not become vulnerable.

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The administrator should closely consider security requirements to drive the decision for selecting the mode of key management for the DR Series system.

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The Internal mode is more secure than the Static mode since the keys are periodically changed. Key rotation can be set to 7 days minimum.

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Key modes can be changed at any time during the lifetime of the DR Series system; however, changing the key mode is a significant operation to undertake as all encrypted data must be re-encrypted.

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Content encryption keys are stored in their encrypted form in a primary keystore, which is maintained on the same enclosure as the data-stores. For redundancy purposes, a backup copy of the primary keystore is stored on the system in the root partition, separate from the data-store partitions.

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Understanding the Encryption Process

The overall steps for how Encryption at Rest is enabled and used in the DR Series system are described below.

Setting a passphrase.

Encryption is disabled by default on a factory installed DR Series system (running version 3.2 software or later) or a DR Series system that has been upgraded to version 3.2 from a previously released version.

The administrator must set a passphrase as the first step in configuring encryption. This passphrase is used to encrypt the content encryption keys, which adds a second layer of security to the key management.

Enabling encryption and setting the mode.

The administrator should enable encryption by using the GUI or CLI. At this time, the mode is also set. The default key management mode is “internal” mode, in which key rotation happens periodically as specified by the set key rotation period.

Encryption process.

After encryption is enabled, the data on the DR Series system that gets backed up is encrypted and is kept encrypted until it is expired and cleaned by the system cleaner. Note that the encryption process is irreversible.

Encryption of pre-existing data. Any pre-existing data on a DR Series system will also be encrypted using the currently set mode of key management. This encryption occurs as part of the system cleaner process. Encryption is scheduled as the last action item in the cleaner workflow. You must launch the cleaner manually using the maintenance command to reclaim space. It then encrypts all pre-existing unencrypted data. The cleaner can also be scheduled as per the existing pre-defined cleaner schedule.

NOTE: The cleaner can take some time to start the encryption process if the system is nearing full system capacity. Encryption starts only after the cleaner processes data slated for cleaning and the related logs. This ensures that space reclamation is prioritized when free space is low and also ensures that data stores are not redundantly encrypted.

Refer to the following topics for more information about enabling encryption and using the system cleaner in the GUI.

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Managing Encryption Operations

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Creating a Cleaner Schedule

Refer to the Dell DR Series System Command Line Reference Guide for information about the CLI commands used for encryption.

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