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arangodb/Documentation/Books/Manual/security-encryption.md

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---
layout: default
description: Securing physical storage media, available in the Enterprise Edition
title: Encryption at Rest
---
# Encryption at Rest
{% hint 'info' %}
Encryption at rest is only available in the
[**Enterprise Edition**](https://www.arangodb.com/why-arangodb/arangodb-enterprise/){:target="_blank"},
also available as [**managed service**](https://www.arangodb.com/managed-service/){:target="_blank"}.
{% endhint %}
When you store sensitive data in your ArangoDB database, you want
to protect that data under all circumstances.
At runtime you will protect it with SSL transport encryption and strong authentication,
but when the data is already on disk, you also need protection.
That is where the Encryption feature comes in.
The Encryption feature of ArangoDB will encrypt all data that ArangoDB
is storing in your database before it is written to disk.
The data is encrypted with AES-256-CTR, which is a strong encryption
algorithm, that is very suitable for multi-processor environments. This means that
your data is safe, but your database is still fast, even under load.
Most modern CPU's have builtin support for hardware AES encryption, which makes it even faster.
The encryption feature is supported by all ArangoDB deployment modes.
## Limitations
The encryption feature has the following limitations:
- Encrypting a single collection is not supported: all the databases are
encrypted.
- It is not possible to enable encryption at runtime: if you have existing
data you will need to take a backup first, then enable encryption and
start your server on an empty data-directory, and finally restore your
backup.
- The Encryption feature requires the RocksDB storage engine.
## Encryption keys
The encryption feature of ArangoDB requires a single 32-byte key per server.
It is recommended to use a different key for each server (when operating in a cluster configuration).
Make sure to protect these keys!
That means:
- Do not write them to persistent disks or your server(s), always store them on an in-memory (`tmpfs`) filesystem.
- Transport your keys safely to your server(s). There are various tools for managing secrets like this (e.g. vaultproject.io).
- Store a copy of your key offline in a safe place. If you lose your key, there is NO way to get your data back.
## Configuration
To activate encryption of your database, you need to supply an
encryption key to the server.
Make sure to pass this option the very first time you start your
database. You cannot encrypt a database that already exists.
Note: You also have to activate the RocksDB storage engine.
### Encryption key stored in file
Pass the following option to `arangod`:
```
$ arangod \
--rocksdb.encryption-keyfile=/mytmpfs/mySecretKey \
--server.storage-engine=rocksdb
```
The file `/mytmpfs/mySecretKey` must contain the encryption key. This
file must be secured, so that only `arangod` can access it. You should
also ensure that in case some-one steals the hardware, he will not be
able to read the file. For example, by encryption `/mytmpfs` or
creating a in-memory file-system under `/mytmpfs`.
### Encryption key generated by a program
Pass the following option to `arangod`:
```
$ arangod \
--rocksdb.encryption-key-generator=path-to-my-generator \
--server.storage-engine=rocksdb
```
The program `path-to-my-generator` output the encryption on standard
output and exit.
## Creating keys
The encryption keyfile must contain 32 bytes of random data.
You can create it with a command line this.
```
dd if=/dev/random bs=1 count=32 of=yourSecretKeyFile
```
For security, it is best to create these keys offline (away from your database servers) and
directly store them in your secret management tool.