Using block device encryption

By using block device encryption the data is encrypted and decrypted at block-device level. The block device can be formatted with a filesystem. The decryption is performed once the filesystem is mounted by the operating system, transparently for users. This type of encryption protects best against media theft and can be used for datafile placement. In this recipe we will add a new disk and implement block-level encryption with Linux Unified Key Setup-on-disk-format (LUKS).

Getting ready

All steps will be performed with nodeorcl1 as root.

How to do it...

1. Shut down nodeorcl1, then add a new disk to the nodeorcl1 system and boot it. Our new device will be seen by the operating system as /dev/sdb. Next, create a new partition /dev/sdb1 using fdisk as follows:

   [root@nodeorcl1 ~]# fdisk /dev/sdb
   WARNING: DOS-compatible mode is deprecated. It's strongly recommended to
            switch off the mode (command 'c') and change display units to
            sectors (command 'u...