iDRAC9 | Secure Enterprise Key Manager (SEKM) Support Enablement
Summary: This article discusses Secure Enterprise Key Manager (SEKM) Support Enablement for the iDRAC9 on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers.
Symptoms
iDRAC9 3.31.31.31 firmware introduced support for Secure Enterprise Key Manager (SEKM). This is a licensed feature that allows users to leverage iDRAC9 to authenticate with Gemalto/SafeNet AT KeySecure Management Server through the Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP).
Additional information regarding Secure Enterprise Key Management can be found at Secure Enterprise Key Manager Home page or Blog article: What’s the Key to a more secure and efficient data center?Resolution
Initial SEKM iDRAC Support:
iDRAC9 3.31.31.31 firmware release is based off the March 2019 iDRAC9 3.30.30.30 firmware release. This is the initial iDRAC9 release that supports the SEKM feature. No additional features or enhancements have been added to this release except SEKM enablement. Only users that plan to leverage SEKM encryption feature in tandem with Gemalto/SafeNet AT KeySecure Management Server should apply this update to their iDRAC9 controllers.
SEKM iDRAC Release Limitations:
SEKM support will not be included in all iDRAC9 firmware releases. Any updates of iDRAC9 firmware to SEKM enabled servers which do not support SEKM will cause the SEKM authentication to fail. SEKM is only supported in the following planned iDRAC9 releases:
- iDRAC9 3.31.31.31 - June 2019
- iDRAC9 4.00.00.00 - December 2019
After the iDRAC9 4.00.00.00 release, SEKM will be a standard feature included in all 4.XX.XX.XX releases moving forward.
Dell EMC PowerEdge Servers ordered with Second Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors (Cascade Lake) can enable the SEKM feature with iDRAC9 3.31.31.31 release.