Virtual Machine Encryption in vSphere provides the ability to encrypt virtual machines and their associated virtual disks. This protects VMs and their data from unauthorized access, even if an intruder obtains physical access to the host data store where the VM resides.
Follow the steps below to configure virtual machine encryption in vSphere:
Step 1: Create a Key Management Server (KMS) Cluster
Before creating virtual machine encryption, you must have a working KMS cluster that can provide encryption keys for vSphere. The KMS cluster can be a VMware-managed or third-party-managed KMS. You can configure the KMS Cluster using Configuration > Key Management Servers in the vSphere Web Client.
Step 2: Create an Encrypted Virtual Machine
Now, create a virtual machine with the virtual hardware. Select the virtual machine that needs encryption in the vSphere Web Client and click on “Edit Settings.” Click on “VM Options” then select “Encrypted VM”. Check “Use disk encryption” for virtual machine encryption. Also, select the vSphere namespace for the KMS cluster under “Encryption namespace.”
Step 3: Enable Encryption for the Virtual Disks
After creating the encrypted virtual machine, the next step is to enable encryption for the virtual disks. Select the virtual machine in the vSphere Web Client and click on “Edit Settings”, then click on “Hardware” and select the virtual disk that you want to encrypt. Under “Disk encryption”, select the KMS cluster that you want to use for encryption and click “OK.”
Step 4: Verify the Encrypted Virtual Machine
After enabling encryption for the virtual machine and its disks, power on the virtual machine to verify that it is functioning correctly, and no issues have occurred because of the encryption.
In conclusion, virtual machine encryption in vSphere helps to protect and secure your virtual machines and their data from unauthorized access. It uses KMS Cluster to provide encryption keys for vSphere. By following the above steps, you can easily configure virtual machine encryption in vSphere.
