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User's Guide: Compute Nodes

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Introduction

Compute Nodes

Compute nodes are bare metal servers or virtual machines running in the cloud or on-premise.​

Users can label compute nodes when registering to Fortanix Confidential Computing Manager (CCM) to provide identity and policy management on the compute nodes​. Before running a Compute Node, it must be enrolled in the Fortanix CCM. This is called the Node Enrollment process. 

Node Agent

Fortanix Node Agent software enables registration of the compute nodes to Fortanix CCM when installed on a compute node​.

The Node Agent assists in the verification of Hardware and Platform software running on the compute nodes.

The Node Agent also assists with application attestation and visibility for Fortanix CCM.

Enroll Compute Nodes

Option 1: Enroll a Compute Node Using Azure Marketplace

  1. First, generate a Join Token using Fortanix CCM UI. To generate your Join Token, please log in to https://em.fortanix.com and in the Management Console tab, click the + ENROLL NODE button. CCM_53.png
                                                                        Figure 1: Enroll compute node
     
  2. In the next screen, a join Token will be generated in the text box for "Get a join token to register an SGX compute node". This Join Token is used by the compute node to authenticate itself. JoinToken1.png
                                                            Figure 2: Copy Join Token
     
  3. Click the copy icon to copy the Join Token (Figure 2).
  4. Now, create the Node Agent to register the compute node using the following URL:
    https://azuremarketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/apps/fortanix.rte_node_agent. 
  5. Click the GET IT NOW button in the “Fortanix Confidential Computing Node Agent” page.
      azure_1.png
                                                               Figure 3: Get the node agent
  6. Click Continue in the pop-up window. azure_2.png
                                                               Figure 4: Confirm creating app in Azure
  7. In the Node Agent preview page, click Create. azure_3.png
                                                          Figure 5: Proceed to create a node agent
     
  8. In the Create Fortanix Confidential Computing Node Agent form (Figure 6), fill all the necessary details.
    1. In the Region field, select either (US) East US, (UK) South UK, or Central Canada (more regions will be added as Azure adds Confidential Computing support to more regions).
       
      NOTE
      Fortanix CCM service is currently available in the above regions.
       
    2. In the Join Token field, paste the join token that you had generated using the Fortanix CCM UI.
       
  9. Click the Review + create button to validate the node agent details. CCM_83.png
                                                                         Figure 6: Validate node agent
     
  10. Wait for the validation to pass.
  11. Once the validation is successful, click Create to create the node agent. CCM_84.png
                                                                     Figure 7: Create node agent
      CCM_54.png
                                                                        Figure 8: node agent created
     
  12. Once the node agent is created, the compute node will be enrolled in the Fortanix CCM, you will see it under the Compute Nodes overview table. CCM_55c.png
                                                                        Figure 9: Enrolled node
     
    NOTE
    To know the attestation type of the node, hover on the certificate CCM_82.png icon. The attestation type is either "DCAP" or "EPID"
     
  13. Add Labels: To control which applications are allowed to run on which nodes, we add Labels for applications and nodes in the form of “Key:Value” pairs. Refer to Application and Compute Node Policy Enforcement for more details.
    1. Suggested Labels – This field will show the top 10 labels that are frequently used by users of an account.
    2. Add Labels – Enter the Key and Value pair and click the LABEL button to save the label. The newly created label will appear in the Labels Added field. A user can also choose an existing label from the Suggested Labels field.
      Example of a “Key:Value” pairs is – “Location:Location_name” where “Location” is the Key and “Location_name” is the Value of the key such as “South UK”.
       
      NOTE
      • A label's key and value can have a maximum of 256 characters and is case-sensitive.
      • Some keys are reserved for internal use which are called system-defined labels.
        • Such as: 'Fortanix', 'fortanix', ‘CCM’, ‘ccm’, confidentialcomputingmanager. Or
        • {Fortanix|Fortanix|CCM|ccm|confidentialcomputingmanager|Confidentialcomputingmanager}<Any_Non-Alphanumeric-Char><Any-Char>.
       
    3. If we are adding labels for an application then it is mandatory to add the same labels on the node on which the application will run.
    4. A node can have multiple labels that belong to different applications. For example:
      App1’s label => Location1: Value1
      App2’s label => Location2: Value2
      Then the Node can have labels => Location1: Value1 , Location2: Value2.

      CCM_56.png                                                   Figure 10: Node label

Option 2: Enroll a Compute Node (bare metal or VM)

Download Node Agent Installer - Ubuntu 16.04

Click the following URL to download the Ubuntu Node Agent installer:
Download Ubuntu Node Agent. 

Download Node Agent Installer - CentOS 7

Click the following URL to download the CentOS Node Agent installer:
Download CentOS Node Agent. 

Enroll Compute Node

  1. Extract the content of the Node-Agent-Installer.tar.gz package and open the folder.
  2. Open the INSTALLER_README.md file which contains the steps to enroll the compute node in Fortanix CCM.
    nodeagentinstaller.png
                              Figure 11: INSTALLER_README

    The INSTALLER_README.md has the steps to enroll a compute node in Fortanix CCM:

  3. Fortanix supports any SGX capable server nodes.
  4. Ensure that applications on the node are allowed to make local connections to the Node Agent on port 9092.
     
    WARNING
    Ports do not accept remote connections as a best practice. So, do not allow remote connections to the node agent.
     
  5. Enroll your compute node in Fortanix CCM:
    1. Copy the file installer.sh to your VM.
    2. Run the installer.sh using the command: 
      sudo bash installer.sh <join-token> --attestation-type=<attestation-type>
    NOTE
    If the attestation-type is DCAP, then make sure that you have az-dcap-client installed on your machine. To install az-dcap-client, please refer to INSTALLER_README.md file.

     
  6. To generate your Join Token, please log in to https://em.fortanix.com, and in the Management Console tab, click the + ENROLL NODE button. CCM_53.png
                                                         Figure 12: Enroll compute node
     
  7. In the ENROLL NODE screen, a Join Token will be generated in the text box for "Get a join token to register an SGX compute node". This Join Token is used by the compute node to authenticate itself.
    JoinToken1.png
                                                    Figure 13: Join token generated
     
  8. Click the Copy button to copy the Join Token (Figure 13). 
  9. Run the installer.sh with the Join Token that you copied. This will enroll the compute node in Fortanix CCM.
  10. Once the compute node is enrolled in Fortanix CCM, you will see it under the Compute Nodes overview table. CCM_55b.png                                                      Figure 14: Enrolled node

Manage Nodes using Fortanix Confidential Computing Manager

  1. Sign in to the Fortanix CCM UI, and navigate to the COMPUTE NODES tab in the Management Console.
  2. Click the IP address of the node that you want to investigate. An information screen opens.
  3. On the information screen, you can choose to deactivate/delist the node or download the certificate that is used. To download the certificate, refer to the next section, Download Confidential Computing Manager Node Attestation Certificate.

Download Confidential Computing Manager Node Attestation Certificate

To download the CCM node attestation certificate:

  1. Go to the COMPUTE NODES tab in the Management Console, and then click the compute node for which you want to download the certificate. CCM_55c.png                                                      Figure 15: Select node
  2. You can download the certificate from the Compute Node detailed view using the Download option on the right. This certificate contains Intel SGX details such as CPUSVN (CPU Security Version Number) of the compute node, MRENCLAVE of the node agent software, and so on, as seen from the screenshot below. CCM_57.png
                                                        Figure 16: Download Certificate