[CALUG] Opinions on whole Disk encryption (for Linux)

[David A. Cafaro]

Ok, I wanted to solicit any experience/opinions on whole disk  
encryption.

I will be implementing some form of whole disk encryption on a new  
server being setup.  I've already double the hardware (cpu/memory) to  
help deal with the extra load that will be generated.

The idea is that on boot the system will start the encryption/ 
decryption process.  When shutdown, the server will stop the  
process.   This way if for some reason the server is stolen (or a HD  
fails and must be sent off for repairs/replacement) there is no fear  
of the data being exposed.

I've started looking at loop-AES, but was curious if anyone else has  
any experience with other solutions or this solution.

OpenSource/Free is preferred, and something that doesn't involve  
messing with the kernel besides loading modules is required.  Ideally  
it would be built in to my distribution already and just require  
setup/tweaking.  The OS will be RHEL5.

Thanks,
David



David A. Cafaro <dac at cafaro.net>
Cafaro's Ramblings:  www.cafaro.net