FIPS 140 compliance and key storage in vCenter Server

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

vCenter Server uses a software-based key management mechanism when the vSphere Native Key Provider (NKP) feature is used.
This design does not require hardware security modules or external key management services.
As a result, the default implementation meets FIPS 140-2 Level 1 requirements.

Environment

vCenter Server

Resolution

For more details about FIPS compliance and the Native Key Provider design, refer to the following official VMware documentation:

• vSphere Native Key Provider (NKP) Questions & Answers

• Federal Information Processing Standard 140