Selecting Media Key Settings

Note You cannot modify the media key settings after a cluster is created.

To select media key settings, in the Media Key Settings screen, select the required media key settings. Click Next.

Table 1-7 lists the media key settings and definitions.

Note The media key settings are applicable only for SME Tape and not for SME disk.

Table 1-7 Media Key Settings

Media Key Setting | Definition
Use unique key per media | In unique key mode, a unique key is issued for each tape volume. The default is unique key mode.
Store key on tape | If you choose unique key mode (see above), this mode allows you to store the encrypted media key on the tape volume not in the Cisco Key Management Center (KMC). This provides better scaling when your backup environment includes a large number of tapes. This is recommended for managing a large number of tape volume keys. Key-on-tape mode is disabled by default.
Auto-volume grouping | SME automatically creates a volume group and categorizes the appropriate tape volumes encrypted under this group based on the backup application's volume pool configuration. Auto-volume grouping is disabled by default.
Compression | SME can perform compression followed by encryption if this option is selected. Compression is enabled by default. Note Compression will be enabled for a tape drive in one of two ways: (a) configuration or (b) if the compression is not enabled through configuration and the tape drive is enabled for compression, compression is implicitly enabled for this tape drive. For case (b), a syslog is generated to indicate that the compression is enabled for this tape drive.
Recycle Tapes | Select this option to enable purging of the keys upon tape recycling. When a tape is recycled or relabeled, a new key is generated and used for encryption. Enabling this option purges the key that was used to encrypt data before the tape was recycled. Note This option must be disabled if the tapes are cloned offline without the involvement of the backup application itself. Tape recycling is enabled by default.