New and Changed Information

The following table provides an overview of the significant changes up to this current release. The table does not provide an exhaustive list of all changes or of the new features up to this release.

Release Version Feature Description

NDFC release 12.2.2

Support for connecting fabrics using inter-fabric links with MACsec using a QKD server or a preshared key

With this feature, you can connect two fabrics using inter-fabric links with Media Access Control Security (MACsec) using a quantum key distribution (QKD) server for secure exchange of encryption keys.

Beginning with NDFC 12.2.2, NDFC added support for MACsec for inter-fabric links for the following fabric types:

  • Data Center VXLAN EVPN

  • Enhanced Classic LAN

  • External Connectivity Network

Prior to NDFC 12.2.2, NDFC supported MACsec for intra-fabric links for the Data Center VXLAN EVPN fabric and the BGP fabric.

For more information about configuring MACsec with or without QKD, see About Connecting Two Fabrics with MACsec Using QKD.

About Connecting Two Fabrics with MACsec Using QKD

Media Access Control Security (MACsec) is the IEEE 802.1AE standard for authenticating and encrypting packets between two MACsec-capable devices.

With this feature, you can connect two fabrics using inter-fabric links with MACsec, either using a quantum key distribution (QKD) server for secure exchange of encryption keys, or by providing a preshared key. If you choose not to enable QKD, NDFC configures preshared keys supplied by the user instead of using quantum keys generated by the QKD server. You need to enable MACsec to enable the use of the QKD server for MACsec.

note.svg

NDFC does not manage the QKD server.

Beginning with NDFC 12.2.2, NDFC added support for MACsec for inter-fabric links for the following fabric types:

  • Data Center VXLAN EVPN

  • Enhanced Classic LAN

  • External Connectivity Network

Prior to NDFC 12.2.2, NDFC supported MACsec for intra-fabric links for the Data Center VXLAN EVPN and the BGP fabrics.

The following sections provide information about connecting two fabrics with MACsec using QKD:

Benefits of Connecting Two Fabrics with MACsec Using QKD

  • Supports generation of quantum keys for encryption using a QKD server for protecting the privacy and authenticity of data.

  • Instead of using preshared keys between the endpoints, NDFC uses the keys from the QKD server that are difficult to break.

  • Helps to ensure data confidentiality by providing strong encryption at Layer 2 for VRF-Lite inter-fabric links. For more information, see the section "Create a VRF-Lite Inter-Fabric Link" in VRF Lite.

  • Provides a secure connectivity association between fabrics.

Supported Switches and Cisco NX-OS Releases for Connecting Two Fabrics with MACsec Using QKD

For more information about MACsec configuration, which includes supported platforms and releases, see the Configuring MACsec chapter in the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Security Configuration Guide.

Supported Configurations for Connecting Two Fabrics with MACsec Using QKD

You can connect two fabrics with MACsec using QKD for the following use cases:

Fabric Type Fabric Type

Data Center VXLAN EVPN

Data Center VXLAN EVPN

Data Center VXLAN EVPN

External Connectivity Network

Data Center VXLAN EVPN

Enhanced Classic LAN

Enhanced Classic LAN

Enhanced Classic LAN

Enhanced Classic LAN

External Connectivity Network

Guidelines for Connecting Two Fabrics with MACsec Using QKD

  • You can change MACsec global parameters in the fabric settings at any time.

  • MACsec and CloudSec can coexist on a border gateway (BGW) device.

  • MACsec status of a link with MACsec enabled is displayed on the Links page.

  • Brownfield migration of devices with MACsec configured is supported using switch and interface freeform configurations.

Limitations for Connecting Two Fabrics with MACsec Using QKD

This feature does not support the following fabric types:

  • BGP

  • Campus VXLAN EVPN

  • VXLAN EVPN Multi-Site

This feature does not support inter-fabric links between two External Connectivity Network fabrics. You can use a freeform configuration to achieve this use case.

Workflow for Connecting Two Fabrics with MACsec Using QKD

  1. Before enabling MACsec using QKD on the fabric and the associated switches, you need to do the following:

    1. Create the RSA keys.

    2. Associate the key pair to the trust point.

    3. Get the signed certificate and upload it to NDFC. For more information, see Uploading a Certificate for Connecting Two Fabrics with MACsec Using QKD.

    4. Manually add the signed certificate to the appropriate switches.

      For more information, see the section "Configuring CAs and Digital Certificates" in the Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS Security Configuration Guide.

  2. Create or edit one of the supported fabric types to enable MACsec and the QKD server.

    For more information, see the following sections:

  3. Create a VRF-Lite inter-fabric link or a Layer 2 inter-fabric link.

    For more information, see the "Create a VRF-Lite Inter-Fabric Link" section or the "Create a Layer 2 DCI Link" section in VRF Lite.

Troubleshooting Connecting Two Fabrics with MACsec Using QKD

If you cannot configure MACsec with QKD on the physical interfaces of the link, an error displays when you click Save.

The error may occur for the following reasons:

Uploading a Certificate for Connecting Two Fabrics with MACsec Using QKD

  1. Navigate to the Admin > Certificate Management > CA Certificates tab.

  2. Click the Upload Certificate button.

    The Upload Certificate - CA dialog box displays.

  3. Drag and drop your CA certificate file to the dialog box or browse to the location of your certificate file.

    The following are the accepted file types:

    • .pem

    • .cer

    • .key

    • .crt

  4. Click Upload.

Editing Fabric Settings for Connecting Two Fabrics with MACsec Using QKD

Enable MACsec on the fabric and on each inter-fabric link to configure MACsec using a quantum key distribution server (QKD).

When you enable MACsec on an inter-fabric link, NDFC uses the local fabric settings for prepopulating the MACsec parameters. Switches in an External Connectivity Network fabric take MACsec settings from a Data Center VXLAN EVPN fabric or from an Enhanced Classic LAN fabric. An External Connectivity Network fabric, Data Center VXLAN EVPN fabric, or an Enhanced Classic LAN fabric can be either the source or the destination fabric.

Each MACsec-enabled inter-fabric link includes an override option to use the link’s local settings instead of from the fabric settings. The override option, Use Link MACsec Setting, allows switches in external fabrics to use a different QKD server from the one used in the Data Center VXLAN EVPN fabric or the Enhanced Classic LAN fabric. NDFC autopopulates MACsec parameters from the fabric settings if the Use Link MACsec Setting option is not enabled.

Editing Fabric Settings for an Enhanced Classic LAN Fabric for Enabling MACsec Using QKD

  1. Choose Manage > Fabrics.

  2. Choose an Enhanced Classic LAN fabric.

  3. From the Actions drop-down list, choose Create Fabric to create a new fabric or Edit Fabric to edit an existing fabric.

    If you are editing an Enhanced Classic LAN fabric, you can change MACsec parameters at any time. You need to perform a Recalculate and Deploy operation to generate new configurations based on the updated fabric settings.

  4. Click the Security tab.

    Field Description

    Enable DCI MACsec

    Check the check box to enable MACsec on DCI links.

    Enable QKD

    Check the check box to enable the QKD server for generating quantum keys for encryption.

    note.svg

    If you choose to not enable the Enable QKD option, NDFC uses preshared keys provided by the user instead of using the QKD server to generate the keys. If you disable the Enable QKD option, all the fields pertaining to QKD are grayed out.

    DCI MACsec Cipher Suite

    Choose one of the following DCI MACsec cipher suites for the DCI MACsec policy:

    • GCM-AES-128

    • GCM-AES-256

    • GCM-AES-XPN-128

    • GCM-AES-XPN-256

    The default value is GCM-AES-XPN-256.

    DCI MACsec Primary Key String

    Specify a Cisco Type 7 encrypted octet string that is used for establishing the primary DCI MACsec session. For AES_256_CMAC, the key string length must be 130 and for AES_128_CMAC, the key string length must be 66. If these values are not specified correctly, an error is displayed when you save the fabric.

    note.svg

    The default key lifetime is infinite.

    DCI MACsec Primary Cryptographic Algorithm

    Choose the cryptographic algorithm used for the primary key string. It can be AES_128_CMAC or AES_256_CMAC. The default value is AES_128_CMAC.

    You can configure a fallback key on the device to initiate a backup session if the primary session fails.

    DCI MACsec Fallback Key String

    Specify a Cisco Type 7 encrypted octet string that is used for establishing a fallback MACsec session. For AES_256_CMAC, the key string length must be 130 and for AES_128_CMAC, the key string length must be 66. If these values are not specified correctly, an error is displayed when you save the fabric.

    note.svg

    This parameter is mandatory if Enable QKD is not selected.

    DCI MACsec Fallback Cryptographic Algorithm

    Choose the cryptographic algorithm used for the fallback key string. It can be AES_128_CMAC or AES_256_CMAC. The default value is AES_128_CMAC.

    QKD Profile Name

    Specify the crypto profile name.

    The maximum size of the crypto profile is 63.

    KME Server IP

    Specify the IPv4 address for the Key Management Entity (KME) server.

    KME Server Port Number

    Specify the port number for the KME server.

    Trustpoint Label

    Specify the authentication type trustpoint label.

    The maximum size is 64.

    Ignore Certificate

    Enable this check box to skip verification of incoming certificates.

    MACsec Status Report Timer

    Specify the MACsec operational status periodic report timer in minutes.

  5. Click Save to save the fabric settings.

  6. From the Actions drop-down list, choose Recalculate and Deploy to apply the new MACsec settings to links that have MACsec enabled and where the Use Link MACsec Setting option is disabled.

Editing Fabric Settings for a Data Center VXLAN Fabric for Enabling MACsec Using QKD

  1. Choose Manage > Fabrics.

  2. Choose a Data Center VXLAN EVPN fabric.

  3. From the Actions drop-down list, choose Edit Fabric to edit the fabric settings.

  4. Click the Security tab.

    The DCI MACsec parameters are the same as for the Enhanced Classic LAN fabric type, as the Data Center VXLAN EVPN fabric type has MACsec parameters for intra-fabric links. For more information, see Editing Fabric Settings for an Enhanced Classic LAN Fabric for Enabling MACsec Using QKD.

    For more information about the remaining fields, see the section "Creating a VXLAN EVPN Fabric Using the Data Center VXLAN EVPN Template > MACsec" in Data Center VXLAN EVPN.

  5. Click Save to configure the MACsec with QKD feature on each switch in the fabric.

  6. From the Actions drop-down list, choose Recalculate and Deploy.

Editing Fabric Settings for an External Connectivity Network Fabric for Enabling MACsec Using QKD

note.svg

With this release, no MACsec parameters are added to the External Connectivity Network fabric.

Switches in an External Connectivity Network fabric take MACsec settings from a Data Center VXLAN EVPN fabric or from an Enhanced Classic LAN fabric.

For more information, see the section "Creating an External Fabric" in External Connectivity Network.

Disabling MACsec Using QKD

The process described in this section is for disabling MACsec for an inter-fabric link for the supported fabric type. For the supported fabric types, see About Connecting Two Fabrics with MACsec Using QKD.

The following operations will disable MACsec and QKD from a link:

  • Disables MACsec on the inter-fabric link using QKD or a preshared key.

  • If this is the last link where MACsec is enabled, NDFC deletes the switch-level MACsec configuration from the switch.

    1. Navigate to the Fabric Overview > Links tab.

    2. Choose the link on which you want to disable MACsec with QKD.

    3. From the Link Management - Edit Link page, navigate to the Security tab and unselect the following options:

      • Enable MACsec

      • Enable QKD

    4. Click Save.

    5. From the Fabric Overview > Switches tab, select Actions > Deploy to remove the MACsec configuration from the switch.

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