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BEST PRACTICES for DATA CENTRE VIRTUALIZATION (ITSP.70.010) March 2020

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BEST PRACTICES for DATA CENTRE VIRTUALIZATION (ITSP.70.010) March 2020 UNCLASSIFIED CYBER CENTRE DATA CENTRE VIRTUALIZATION REPORT: BEST PRACTICES FOR DATA CENTRE VIRTUALIZATION (ITSP.70.010) March 2020 PRACTITIONER TLP:WHITE 1 ITSP.70.010 UNCLASSIFIED FOREWORD ITSP.70.010 Cyber Centre Data Centre Virtualization Report: Best Practices for Data Centre Virtualization is an UNCLASSIFIED publication, issued under the authority of the Head, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre). For more information, email or phone our Contact Centre: Cyber Centre Contact Centre [email protected] 613-949-7048 or 1-833-CYBER-88 EFFECTIVE DATE This publication takes effect on (03/27/2020). REVISION HISTORY Revision Amendments Date 1 First release. March 27, 2020 2 ITSP.70.010 UNCLASSIFIED OVERVIEW To improve efficiency and streamline operations, many organizations are virtualizing their data centres. However, some are doing so without a proper understanding of the security implications of their decisions on the overall security posture of the data centre. By increasing their consolidation ratios (i.e. the number of virtual machines that can operate on each physical host machine), many organizations may unintentionally compromise their network security architecture. Moreover, any attempt to replace many of the physical isolation mechanisms with logical equivalents may introduce unacceptable risk into their network architecture. Not only are virtualized data centres (VDCs) susceptible to most of the vulnerabilities inherent in traditional data centres, but they introduce new vulnerabilities specific to this environment. While complex virtualization threats (e.g. System Management Mode (SMM) rootkits, side-channel attacks, and hyperjacking) must be addressed, it is the more practical threats that are of greater risk to the VDC. These practical threats include things such as misconfiguration, compromise of the management interface, and conventional attacks on both the hypervisor and virtual machines (VMs). A VDC must address the threats, inherent vulnerabilities, and characteristic risks to data centres, as well as those specific to complex virtualized environments. Fortunately, VDCs can be made secure by using several safeguards and best practices. These safeguards and best practices involve addressing each layer of the virtual environment as well as addressing interactions between the various layers. This report provides an overview of a VDC, presents the inherent vulnerabilities in a VDC, and provides recommendations on how to design a secure VDC. 3 ITSP.70.010 UNCLASSIFIED TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 6 Policy Drivers .................................................................................................................................................... 6 Applicable Environments ................................................................................................................................... 7 Relationship to the IT Risk Management Process ................................................................................................ 8 1.3.1 Organizational-Level Activities ....................................................................................................................... 8 1.3.2 Information System-Level Activities ................................................................................................................ 9 Approach .......................................................................................................................................................... 9 Scope .............................................................................................................................................................. 10 Assumptions .................................................................................................................................................... 10 2 Virtualized Data Centre Overview ............................................................................................................... 11 Overview .......................................................................................................................................................... 11 Networking ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 2.2.1 Required Networks ....................................................................................................................................... 12 2.2.2 Network Security Zones ................................................................................................................................ 13 2.2.3 Network Function Virtualization ..................................................................................................................... 15 Physical Hardware ............................................................................................................................................ 15 2.3.1 Hardware Compatibility ................................................................................................................................. 16 2.3.2 Processors ................................................................................................................................................... 16 2.3.3 Network Adapters ......................................................................................................................................... 16 2.3.4 Networking Devices ...................................................................................................................................... 16 Hypervisor ........................................................................................................................................................ 16 2.4.1 Protection Rings ........................................................................................................................................... 17 2.4.2 Resource Partitioning .................................................................................................................................... 18 2.4.3 Virtual Networking ........................................................................................................................................ 18 VIrtual Machine (VM) ........................................................................................................................................ 19 2.5.1 Virtual Hardware ........................................................................................................................................... 19 2.5.2 Operating System ......................................................................................................................................... 19 4 ITSP.70.010 UNCLASSIFIED 2.5.3 Applications ................................................................................................................................................. 19 Management .................................................................................................................................................... 19 Storage ............................................................................................................................................................ 21 Security ............................................................................................................................................................ 22 2.8.1 Security Virtualization ................................................................................................................................... 22 3 VDC Reference Architecture Best Practices.................................................................................................. 24 4 Summary ............................................................................................................................................... 27 Contacts and Assistance .................................................................................................................................. 27 5 Supporting Content .................................................................................................................................. 28 List of Abbreviations......................................................................................................................................... 28 Glossary ........................................................................................................................................................... 30 References ....................................................................................................................................................... 31 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................................... 32 5.4.1 Cyber Centre publications ............................................................................................................................. 32 5.4.2 SSC Publications .......................................................................................................................................... 32 5.4.3 Other publications ........................................................................................................................................ 32 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 IT Security
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