Encrypted Volume and File System v1.1.2 Release Notes

— Specify different multipaths to the same physical disk when using whole disk access
— Specify persistent and legacy device files that point to the same physical disk
CAUTION: If you create multiple EVFS volumes that reference the same LVM or VxVM
volume or the same whole disk device, data corruption can occur.
• You enable EVFS encryption and decryption for an EVFS volume as a single unit. When
you enable EVFS encryption and decryption for a volume, EVFS encrypts and decrypts the
data blocks as the blocks are accessed, and all read operations through the EVFS volume
receive decrypted data as output, and users can access individual files in cleartext. You must
use normal HP-UX file system permissions and access control to restrict access to the data.
• You cannot encrypt the following objects:
— Files or disk areas used during system boot. This includes the following objects:
◦ the root file system (/)
◦ the HP-UX kernel directory (/stand)
◦ the /usr directory
EVFS cannot decrypt the kernel or other data before the system boots.
CAUTION: Encrypting the boot disk can cause the boot disk to become unusable and
prevent you from booting the system.
— Dump devices.
— Swap space (swap devices or file swap space).
CAUTION: Encrypting swap space can cause the system to panic.
• EVFS does not automatically convert existing volume data to encrypted data. To encrypt
existing volume data, use the inline encryption feature.
CAUTION: If you improperly configure EVFS on a volume that already contains data, the
existing data will be unusable.
IMPORTANT: To use inline encryption, 3 MB of spare disk space are required at the end
of the volume, and the minimum volume size must be 4 MB. If the entire volume is used,
extend the volume using lvextend for LVM, or vxassist for VXVM.
• To mount a file system on an EVFS volume, EVFS must be enabled and transferring data to
and from the file system in cleartext (unencrypted). Therefore, any executable that uses file
system utilities to read or write data can operate only on cleartext data.
Network file sharing utilities, such as NFS, CIFS, FTP, or rcp, will transmit files in cleartext,
even if the original files reside on an EVFS volume.
• If you want to use a backup utility that performs incremental backups or that backs up
individual files, EVFS must be enabled. The backup utility will read the data in cleartext,
even if the original files reside on an EVFS volume. If the target backup device is another
EVFS volume, the target EVFS volume will re-encrypt the data.
If the target backup device is a tape device or other non-EVFS device:
— You must back up the volume as a volume device (as a single unit), not as a file system
or group of files, to create encrypted backup media. You can create encrypted backup
media using block device utilities, such as dd.
— You cannot create encrypted backup media using file-based utilities.
• If you use Ignite-UX to create boot or installation media, Ignite-UX will include system files
from the /var, /opt, and /usr directories in the media in addition to the kernel file.
1.4 Limitations 9