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Chapter 7. QAT acceleration for encryption and compression

Intel QAT (QuickAssist Technology) can provide extended accelerated encryption and compression services by offloading the actual encryption and compression requests to the hardware QuickAssist accelerators, which are more efficient in terms of cost and power than general purpose CPUs for those specific compute-intensive workloads.

Important

QAT can only be configured on new setups in Red Hat Ceph Storage 7.1 (Greenfield only). QAT Ceph Object Gateway daemons cannot be configured in the same cluster as non-QAT (regular) Ceph Object Gateway daemons.

Important

Hardware accelerated compression in Ceph Object Gateway requires RHEL 9.4 on a Sapphire or Emerald Rapids Xeon CPU (or newer) with QAT devices. For more information, see Intel Ark.

Prerequisites

  • A running Red Hat Ceph Storage cluster.
  • Ceph Object gateway installed.

  • 'Grub' is configured to pass the intel_iommu parameter. 

    grubby --update-kernel=ALL --args="intel_iommu=on"
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7.1. Setting up the QAT service
Copy link

You can set up the QAT service to encrypt and compress the Ceph Object Gateway objects.

Procedure

  1. Install qatlib-service, qatlib, qatzip, and qatengine packages. 

    # dnf install -y qatlib-service qatlib qatzip qatengine
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  2. Add 'root' to the 'QAT' group on the HOST. 

    # usermod -aG qat root
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  3. Ensure that the limits.conf file exists with the below data.

    1. To perform data encryption, ensure ServicesEnabled is set to asym in the configuration file. 

      # cat /etc/sysconfig/qat

ServicesEnabled=asym
POLICY=8
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    2. To perform data compression, ensure ServicesEnabled is set to dc in the configuration file. 

      # cat /etc/sysconfig/qat

ServicesEnabled=dc
POLICY=8
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    3. To perform both data encryption and compression, ensure ServicesEnabled is set to asym,dc in the configuration file. 

      # cat /etc/sysconfig/qat

ServicesEnabled=asym,dc
POLICY=8
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  4. Configure the limits.conf file with the below data. 

    # sudo vim /etc/security/limits.conf

...
root - memlock 500000
ceph - memlock 500000
...
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  5. Enable the configurations in the limits.conf file. 

    # sudo su -l $USER
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  6. Enable the QAT service. 

    # systemctl enable qat
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  7. Reboot the node. 

    # systemctl reboot
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  8. Create the specification file and pass additional arguments to podman for Ceph Object Gateway:

    Note

    You can use the following command to generate the device list:

    --device /dev/vfio --device /dev/qat_adf_ctl $(for i in ls /dev/vfio/*) | grep 'dev' | grep -v ':' ; do echo --device $i;

    Example

    service_type: rgw
service_id: rgw_qat
placement:
  label: rgw
extra_container_args:
  - "-v /etc/group:/etc/group:ro"
  - "--group-add=keep-groups"
  - "--cap-add=SYS_ADMIN"
  - "--cap-add=SYS_PTRACE"
  - "--cap-add=IPC_LOCK"
  - "--security-opt seccomp=unconfined"
  - "--ulimit memlock=209715200:209715200"
  - "--device=/dev/qat_adf_ctl:/dev/qat_adf_ctl"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/vfio:/dev/vfio/vfio"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/333:/dev/vfio/333"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/334:/dev/vfio/334"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/335:/dev/vfio/335"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/336:/dev/vfio/336"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/337:/dev/vfio/337"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/338:/dev/vfio/338"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/339:/dev/vfio/339"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/340:/dev/vfio/340"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/341:/dev/vfio/341"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/342:/dev/vfio/342"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/343:/dev/vfio/343"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/344:/dev/vfio/344"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/345:/dev/vfio/345"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/346:/dev/vfio/346"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/347:/dev/vfio/347"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/348:/dev/vfio/348"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/349:/dev/vfio/349"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/350:/dev/vfio/350"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/351:/dev/vfio/351"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/352:/dev/vfio/352"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/353:/dev/vfio/353"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/354:/dev/vfio/354"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/355:/dev/vfio/355"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/356:/dev/vfio/356"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/357:/dev/vfio/357"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/358:/dev/vfio/358"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/359:/dev/vfio/359"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/360:/dev/vfio/360"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/361:/dev/vfio/361"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/362:/dev/vfio/362"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/363:/dev/vfio/363"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/364:/dev/vfio/364"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/365:/dev/vfio/365"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/366:/dev/vfio/366"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/367:/dev/vfio/367"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/368:/dev/vfio/368"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/369:/dev/vfio/369"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/370:/dev/vfio/370"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/371:/dev/vfio/371"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/372:/dev/vfio/372"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/373:/dev/vfio/373"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/374:/dev/vfio/374"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/375:/dev/vfio/375"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/376:/dev/vfio/376"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/377:/dev/vfio/377"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/378:/dev/vfio/378"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/379:/dev/vfio/379"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/380:/dev/vfio/380"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/381:/dev/vfio/381"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/382:/dev/vfio/382"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/383:/dev/vfio/383"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/384:/dev/vfio/384"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/385:/dev/vfio/385"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/386:/dev/vfio/386"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/387:/dev/vfio/387"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/388:/dev/vfio/388"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/389:/dev/vfio/389"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/390:/dev/vfio/390"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/391:/dev/vfio/391"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/392:/dev/vfio/392"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/393:/dev/vfio/393"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/394:/dev/vfio/394"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/395:/dev/vfio/395"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/396:/dev/vfio/396"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio0:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio0"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio1:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio1"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio2:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio2"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio3:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio3"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio4:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio4"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio5:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio5"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio6:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio6"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio7:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio7"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio8:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio8"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio9:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio9"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio10:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio10"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio11:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio11"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio12:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio12"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio13:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio13"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio14:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio14"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio15:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio15"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio16:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio16"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio17:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio17"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio18:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio18"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio19:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio19"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio20:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio20"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio21:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio21"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio22:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio22"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio23:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio23"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio24:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio24"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio25:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio25"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio26:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio26"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio27:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio27"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio28:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio28"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio29:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio29"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio30:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio30"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio31:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio31"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio32:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio32"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio33:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio33"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio34:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio34"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio35:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio35"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio36:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio36"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio37:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio37"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio38:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio38"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio39:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio39"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio40:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio40"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio41:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio41"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio42:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio42"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio43:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio43"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio44:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio44"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio45:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio45"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio46:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio46"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio47:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio47"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio48:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio48"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio49:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio49"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio50:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio50"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio51:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio51"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio52:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio52"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio53:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio53"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio54:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio54"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio55:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio55"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio56:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio56"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio57:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio57"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio58:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio58"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio59:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio59"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio60:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio60"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio61:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio61"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio62:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio62"
  - "--device=/dev/vfio/devices/vfio63:/dev/vfio/devices/vfio63"
networks:
- 172.17.8.0/24
spec:
  rgw_frontend_port: 8000
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7.2. QAT-based encryption
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You can encrypt objects in Ceph Object Gateway using the QAT-based encryption for OpenSSL.

Procedure

  1. To enable QAT-based encryption, edit the Ceph configuration file to make use of QAT-based crypto plugin:

    Syntax

    plugin crypto accelerator = crypto_qat
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7.3. QAT-based compression
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You can compress objects in Ceph Object Gateway using the tool class for QAT acceleration.

Procedure

  1. To enable QAT-based compression, edit the Ceph configuration file to enable QAT support for compression:

    Syntax

    qat compressor enabled=true
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