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My Linux server spends a lot of time computing LUKS encryption. Is there any way to hardware accelerate it (with a PCI express card for example)?

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    Depending on what kind of system you have now, a faster/better processor might do. Also, define "much time".
    – Sven
    Aug 14, 2011 at 19:36
  • It's 1/3 speed of normal I/O operation. I don't happy to waste the 2/3 of the speed beause of encryption. It's Ubuntu Server.
    – Glendyr
    Aug 14, 2011 at 19:53
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    What is your processor? The last models of Intel has AES-NI and VIA has had cryptographic hardware for years. Intel (I dont' know AMD) has especial optimizations for AES gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/gcc/i386-and-x86_002d64-Options.html .
    – Rufo El Magufo
    Aug 14, 2011 at 20:05

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Beginning with Kernel 2.6.32 the AES-NI instructions on newer Intel processors are supported by dm-crypt. You might want to check /proc/cpuinfo if your processor supports these instructions. Otherwise, upgrading your processor will speed up your harddisk encryption (provided you are actually using AES encryption)

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AES_instruction_set

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  • Interesting - what you got and docs/links on the subject?
    – Coops
    Aug 14, 2011 at 20:36
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    modprobe aesni-intel or add it to /etc/initramfs-tools/modules and run update-initramfs -u.
    – earthmeLon
    Jan 15, 2013 at 18:23
  • @earthmeLon that is exactly what i was looking for!
    – ortang
    May 26, 2013 at 14:39
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AESNI is hardware acceleration for AES encryption. As long as your LUKS/dmcrypt is setup to use AES, which it most likely is, and so long that your processor supports it, you can add the AESNI kernel module manually or automatically.

Manual (test to make sure it works/is supported)

  • sudo modprobe aesni-intel

Automatic

  • sudo vim /etc/initramfs-tools/modules
    • Add aesni_intel
  • sudo update-initramfs -u

You want to add it to your initramfs, and not just your normal kernel because you want it to be available before you decrypt your drive and load your main kernel.

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  • Note Most (if not all) Intel i3's do not support AESNI. You can check by looking for "aes" in /proc/cpuinfo: grep aes /proc/cpuinfo.
    – earthmeLon
    May 26, 2013 at 17:08
  • Does this work for AMD processors which support AES ? I ran the command @earthmeLon says and it says my AMD A8-4500M supports AES
    – Suici Doga
    Jul 7, 2016 at 2:31
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To my knowledge, there are no such add-on cards for dm-crypt/luks encrypion. DM doesn't support them.

That said, it does look like there is a move afoot to get GPU-acceleration into the processing pipeline if it is available. As servers still rarely have GPUs in them (though that's changing) this may not be that useful for you.

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