Encryption: Data in Transit Node to Node¶

Communication between all or some nodes can be encrypted. The controlling parameter is server_encryption_options.

Once enabled, all communication between the nodes is transmitted over TLS/SSL. The libraries used by ScyllaDB for OpenSSL are FIPS 140-2 certified.

To build a self-signed certificate chain, see generating a self-signed certificate chain using openssl.

Procedure

1. Configure the internode_encryption, under /etc/scylla/scylla.yaml.

   Available options are:

   • internode_encryption can be one of the following:

     • none (default) - No traffic is encrypted.

     • all - Encrypts all traffic

     • dc - Encrypts the traffic between the data centers.

     • rack - Encrypts the traffic between the racks.

   • certificate - A PEM format certificate, either self-signed, or provided by a certificate authority (CA).

   • keyfile - The corresponding PEM format key for the certificate.

   • truststore - Optional path to a PEM format certificate store of trusted CAs. If not provided, ScyllaDB will attempt to use the system trust store to authenticate certificates.

   • certficate_revocation_list - The path to a PEM-encoded certificate revocation list (CRL) - a list of issued certificates that have been revoked before their expiration date.

   • require_client_auth - Set to True to require client side authorization. False by default.

   • priority_string - Specifies session’s handshake algorithms and options to use. By default there are none. For information on priority strings, refer to this guide.

   scylla.yaml example:

   server_encryption_options:
       internode_encryption: <none|rack|dc|all>
       certificate: <path to a PEM-encoded certificate file>
       keyfile: <path to a PEM-encoded key for certificate>
       truststore: <path to a PEM-encoded trust store> (optional)
       certficate_revocation_list: <path to a PEM-encoded CRL file> (optional)
   

2. Restart ScyllaDB node to apply the changes.

   Supported OSDocker

   sudo systemctl restart scylla-server
   

Once internode_encryption or client_encryption_options is enabled (by being set to something other than none), the SSL / TLS certificates and key files specified in scylla.yaml will continue to be monitored and reloaded if modified on disk. When the files are updated, ScyllaDB reloads them and uses them for subsequent connections.