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This document provides information about configuring the KMES Series 3 with Microsoft SQL Server Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) by using EKM libraries. For additional questions related to your KMES Series 3 device, see the relevant user guide.

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About Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) used for large-scale online transaction processing (OLTP), data warehousing, and e-commerce applications. It is also a business intelligence platform for data integration, analysis, and reporting solutions.

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About Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)

From the Microsoft documentation website: Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) encrypts SQL Server data files. This encryption is known as encrypting data at rest. To help secure a database, you can take precautions like:
  • Designing a secure system.
  • Encrypting confidential assets.
  • Building a firewall around the database servers.
However, a malicious party who steals physical media like drives or backup tapes can restore or attach the database and browse its data. One solution is to encrypt sensitive data in a database and use a certificate to protect the keys that encrypt the data. This solution prevents anyone without the keys from using the data. But you must plan this kind of protection. TDE does real-time I/O encryption and decryption of data and log files. The encryption uses a database encryption key (DEK). The database boot record stores the key for availability during recovery. The DEK is a symmetric key. It’s secured by a certificate that the server’s master database stores or by an asymmetric key that an EKM module protects. TDE protects data at rest, which is the data and log files. It lets you follow many laws, regulations, and guidelines established in various industries. This ability lets software developers encrypt data by using AES and 3DES encryption algorithms without changing existing applications.

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Encryption hierarchy and integration with the KMES Series 3

Through Extensible Key Management (EKM), Microsoft SQL Server can use a KMES Series 3 for key management and encryption acceleration. In this configuration, you can encrypt data by using encryption keys that only the database user has access to on the external EKM or HSM module.
Only the database-level items (such as the database encryption key) are user-configurable when you use TDE on your SQL Database.

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Integration overview

This guide covers the following tasks:
  1. Configure the KMES Series 3:
    1. Create TLS certificates for the System/Host API connection pair and Microsoft SQL Server.
    2. Create a role and identity.
    3. Enable Host API commands.
  2. Install and configure the FXCL EKM.
  3. Configure EKM in Microsoft SQL Server.
  4. Enable TDE in Microsoft SQL Server.
The following sections show you how to perform these tasks.