Using the Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP)¶

Percona Server for MongoDB adds support for secure transfer of keys using the OASIS Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP). The KMIP implementation was tested with the PyKMIP server and the HashiCorp Vault Enterprise KMIP Secrets Engine.

KMIP enables the communication between key management systems and the database server. KMIP provides the following benefits:

Streamlines encryption key management
Eliminates redundant key management processes

Starting with version 4.4.15-15, you can specify multiple KMIP servers for failover. On startup, Percona Server for MongoDB connects to the servers in the order listed and selects the one with which the connection is successful.

Starting with version 4.4.16-16, the kmipKeyIdentifier option is no longer mandatory. When left blank, the database server creates a key on the KMIP server and uses that for encryption. When you specify the identifier, the key with such an ID must exist on the keystore.

Percona Server for MongoDB cannot encrypt existing data. If there is data in place, see the steps how to encrypt existing data.

Note

Starting with version 4.4.21-20, the master key is stored in a raw-byte format. If you set up Percona Server for MongoDB 4.4.21-20 and wish to downgrade to some previous version, this downgrade is not possible via binary replacement. Consider using the logical backup and restore via Percona Backup for MongoDB for this purpose.

KMIP parameters¶

Configuration file	security.kmip.serverName
Command line	`kmipServerName`
Type	string
Description	The hostname or IP address of the KMIP server. As of version 4.4.15-15, multiple KMIP servers are supported as the comma-separated list, e.g. `kmip1.example.com,kmip2.example.com`

Configuration file	security.kmip.port
Command line	`kmipPort`
Type	number
Description	The port used to communicate with the KMIP server. When undefined, the default port `5696` is used

Configuration file	security.kmip.serverCAFile
Command line	`kmipServerCAFile`
Type	string
Description	The path to the certificate of the root authority that issued the certificate for the KMIP server. Required only if the root certificate is not trusted by default on the machine the database server works on.

Configuration file	security.kmip.clientCertificateFile
Command line	`kmipClientCertificateFile`
Type	string
Description	The path to the PEM file with the KMIP client private key and the certificate chain. The database server uses this PEM file to authenticate the KMIP server

Configuration file	security.kmip.keyIdentifier
Command line	`kmipKeyIdentifier`
Type	string
Description	Optional starting with version 4.4.16-16. The identifier of the KMIP key. If not specified, the database server creates a key on the KMIP server and saves its identifier internally for future use. When you specify the identifier, the key with such an ID must exist on the key storage. You can only use this setting for the first time you enable encryption.

Configuration file	security.kmip.rotateMasterKey
Command line	kmipRotateMasterKey
Type	boolean
Description	Controls master keys rotation. When enabled, generates the new master key version and re-encrypts the keystore. Available as of version 4.4.14-14.

Configuration file	security.kmip.clientCertificatePassword
Command line	kmipClientCertificatePassword
Type	string
Description	The password for the KMIP client private key or certificate. Use this parameter only if the KMIP client private key or certificate is encrypted. Available starting with version 4.4.15-15.

Configuration file	security.kmip.connectRetries
Command line	kmipConnectRetries
Type	int
Description	Defines how many times to retry the initial connection to the KMIP server. The max number of connection attempts equals to `connectRetries + 1`. Default: 0. The option accepts values greater than zero. Use it together with the `connectTimeoutMS` parameter to control how long `mongod` waits for the response before making the next retry. Available starting with version 4.4.26-25.

Configuration file	security.kmip.connectTimeoutMS
Command line	kmipConnectTimeoutMS
Type	int
Description	The time to wait for the response from the KMIP server. Min value: 1000. Default: 5000. If the `connectRetries` setting is specified, the `mongod` waits up to the value specified with `connectTimeoutMS` for each retry. Available starting with version 4.4.26-25.

Key rotation¶

Starting with release 4.4.14-14, the support for master key rotation is added. This enables users to comply with data security regulations when using KMIP.

Configuration¶

Make sure you have obtained the root certificate, and the keypair for the KMIP server and the mongod client. For testing purposes you can use the OpenSSL to issue self-signed certificates. For production use we recommend you use the valid certificates issued by the key management appliance.

To enable data-at-rest encryption in Percona Server for MongoDB using KMIP, edit the /etc/mongod.conf configuration file as follows:

security:
  enableEncryption: true
  kmip:
    serverName: <kmip_server_name>
    port: <kmip_port>
    clientCertificateFile: </path/client_certificate.pem>
    serverCAFile: </path/ca.pem>
    keyIdentifier: <key_name>

Alternatively, you can start Percona Server for MongoDB using the command line as follows:

$ mongod --enableEncryption \
  --kmipServerName <kmip_servername> \
  --kmipPort <kmip_port> \
  --kmipServerCAFile <path_to_ca_file> \
  --kmipClientCertificateFile <path_to_client_certificate> \
  --kmipKeyIdentifier <kmip_identifier>

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