Dell Brocade G620 Brocade 8.0.1 Fabric OS Administratiors Guide - Page 406

Availability considerations for encryption and compression

Page 406 highlights

In-flight Encryption and Compression ∙ The in-flight encryption protocol supports the AES-GCM authenticated encryption block cipher mode. A key, Initial Vector (IV), segment number, and salt are required to encrypt the data before it is transmitted, and to decode the data after it is received on the other end of the link. ∙ In-flight encryption feature uses DH-CHAP(Diffie Hellman - Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol) or Fibre Channel Authentication Protocol (FCAP) for authentication and key generation for secure frame transaction. ∙ In the in-flight encryption process, a session key will be generated during authentication phase and it will be used in IKE (Internet Key Exchange) protocol session to generate and exchange encryption/decryption keys for packet encryption/ decryption between two devices. ∙ For in-flight encryption using DH-CHAP, DH-CHAP must be configured along with DH group 4 and pre-shared secret keys on the devices on both ends of the ISL as a pre-requisite. Authentication secrets greater than 32 characters are recommended for stronger encryption keys. Once the link is authenticated, the keys are generated and exchanged. ∙ For in-flight encryption using FCAP, FCAP must be configured along with DH group 4 and certificates (CA and switch) at both ends of ISL as a pre-requisite. ∙ The encryption keys never expire. While the port remains online, the keys generated for the port remain the same. When a port is disabled, segmented, or taken offline, a new set of keys is generated when the port is enabled again. ∙ All members of a trunk group use the same set of keys as the master port. Slave ports do not exchange keys. If the master port goes offline causing an E_Port or EX_Port change, the trunk continues to use the same set of keys. Availability considerations for encryption and compression To provide redundancy in the event of encryption or compression port failures, you should connect each ISL or trunk group to different ASICs on the peer switch. For FC16-32, FC16-48, FC16-64 blades, if the two ports configured for encryption or compression within the same ASIC are not configured for trunking, it is recommended to connect each ISL to a different ASIC on the peer switch. Similarly, configure the two ports on the other ASIC of the blade. If the ports are configured for trunking, it is recommended to connect each trunk group to different ASICs on the peer switch. For Brocade 6510 and 6520 switches, and 16 Gbps Blade Server SAN I/O Modules, if the two ports are not configured for trunking, it is recommended that you connect each ISL to different ASICs on the peer switch. For FC32-48 blades and G620 switch, four ports per ASIC can be configured with compression. NOTE If any port with encryption enabled encounters rare error conditions that require error recovery to be performed on the encryption engine within that ASIC, all encryption or compression-enabled ports on that ASIC go offline. Virtual Fabrics considerations for encryption and compression The E_Ports and EX_Ports in the user-created logical switch, base switch, or default switch, and the EX_Ports on base switches can support encryption and compression, with some exceptions. You can configure encryption on XISL ports, but not on LISL ports. However, frames from the LISL ports are implicitly encrypted or compressed as they pass through encryption- or compression-enabled XISL ports. You cannot move a port from one logical switch to another logical switch if in-flight encryption or compression is enabled on the port. You must disable the encryption and compression configurations before moving the port, and then enable encryption and compression after the port has moved. 406 Brocade Fabric OS Administration Guide, 8.0.1 53-1004111-02

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The in-flight encryption protocol supports the AES-GCM authenticated encryption block cipher mode. A key, Initial Vector (IV),
segment number, and salt are required to encrypt the data before it is transmitted, and to decode the data after it is received on
the other end of the link.
In-flight encryption feature uses DH-CHAP(Diffie Hellman – Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol) or Fibre Channel
Authentication Protocol (FCAP) for authentication and key generation for secure frame transaction.
In the in-flight encryption process, a session key will be generated during authentication phase and it will be used in IKE
(Internet Key Exchange) protocol session to generate and exchange encryption/decryption keys for packet encryption/
decryption between two devices.
For in-flight encryption using DH-CHAP, DH-CHAP must be configured along with DH group 4 and pre-shared secret keys
on the devices on both ends of the ISL as a pre-requisite. Authentication secrets greater than 32 characters are recommended
for stronger encryption keys. Once the link is authenticated, the keys are generated and exchanged.
For in-flight encryption using FCAP, FCAP must be configured along with DH group 4 and certificates (CA and switch) at both
ends of ISL as a pre-requisite.
The encryption keys never expire. While the port remains online, the keys generated for the port remain the same. When a port
is disabled, segmented, or taken offline, a new set of keys is generated when the port is enabled again.
All members of a trunk group use the same set of keys as the master port. Slave ports do not exchange keys. If the master port
goes offline causing an E_Port or EX_Port change, the trunk continues to use the same set of keys.
Availability considerations for encryption and compression
To provide redundancy in the event of encryption or compression port failures, you should connect each ISL or trunk group to different
ASICs on the peer switch.
For FC16-32, FC16-48, FC16-64 blades, if the two ports configured for encryption or compression within the same ASIC are not
configured for trunking, it is recommended to connect each ISL to a different ASIC on the peer switch. Similarly, configure the two ports
on the other ASIC of the blade. If the ports are configured for trunking, it is recommended to connect each trunk group to different
ASICs on the peer switch.
For Brocade 6510 and 6520 switches, and 16 Gbps Blade Server SAN I/O Modules, if the two ports are not configured for trunking, it is
recommended that you connect each ISL to different ASICs on the peer switch.
For FC32-48 blades and G620 switch, four ports per ASIC can be configured with compression.
NOTE
If any port with encryption enabled encounters rare error conditions that require error recovery to be performed on the
encryption engine within that ASIC, all encryption or compression-enabled ports on that ASIC go offline.
Virtual Fabrics considerations for encryption and compression
The E_Ports and EX_Ports in the user-created logical switch, base switch, or default switch, and the EX_Ports on base switches can
support encryption and compression, with some exceptions.
You can configure encryption on XISL ports, but not on LISL ports. However, frames from the LISL ports are implicitly encrypted or
compressed as they pass through encryption- or compression-enabled XISL ports.
You cannot move a port from one logical switch to another logical switch if in-flight encryption or compression is enabled on the port.
You must disable the encryption and compression configurations before moving the port, and then enable encryption and compression
after the port has moved.
In-flight Encryption and Compression
Brocade Fabric OS Administration Guide, 8.0.1
406
53-1004111-02