7장. Installing an IdM deployment with keys and certificates stored on an HSM

A hardware security module (HSM) provides a hardened, tamper-resistant environment for secure cryptographic processing, key generation, and encryption. You can store your key pairs and certificates for your IdM Certificate Authority (CA) and Key Recovery Authority (KRA) on an HSM. This adds physical security to the private key material.

IdM relies on the networking features of the HSM to share the keys between machines to create replicas. The HSM provides additional security without visibly affecting most IdM operations. When you use low-level tooling, the system handles certificates and keys differently, but this is seamless for most users.

Using an HSM is largely invisible to users and administrators beyond passing additional options during the installation. The options required and any pre-installation work are HSM-specific.