> It would seem like the best place to perform encryption if you really > needed it for most tapes is at the tape subsystem level, so you can > also let the tape hardware compression do its thing. Has IBM or > anyone else yet considered putting a crypto engine in the tape > subsystem, so both compression and encryption could be done at this > level?
There are indeed some hardware-based products available now, though not from IBM to my knowledge. In the z/OS 1.7 announcement letter there's an IBM statement of direction concerning software tape encryption (crypto hardware assisted, of course, if available on your system). I would read that statement very carefully. (It's on page 1, so it's important.) It does have an availability date listed: "2005." There's also this new Statement of Direction that coincided with the System z9 announcement: "IBM TotalStorage encryption: To address customers' growing concern with data security, IBM is planning for the development, enhancement, and support of encryption capabilities within storage environments such that the capability does not require the use of host server resources (so called 'outboard' encryption capabilities). This includes the intent to offer, among other things, capabilities for products within the IBM TotalStorage portfolio to support outboard encryption and to leverage the key management functions provided by the Integrated Cryptographic Service Facility (ICSF)." Hope that helps. Timothy Sipples ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
