Purpose of this Quick Guide
The Masking Engine Quick Start Guide is aimed at all users interested in using the Masking Engine in conjunction with Data as a Service Engine. This guide serves as a brief overview and refresher of important Masking Engine concepts as well as a guide for the common masking workflows when using either and or both the Masking Engine and Data as a Service Engine. The workflows below describe different options and configurations available for masking virtualized data using both the Masking Engine along with the Data as a Service Engine.
What Is Delphix Masking?
Delphix Masking combines the Data as a Service Engine with the Masking Engine to provide the ability to provision, mask, and manage data in a standardized and automated way. Masking technology works behind the scenes to replace sensitive data with fictitious data, which you can then move out of your production environment and into non-prod environments.
Common Use Cases
Masking Production Data for Non-Production Environments
Developers commonly need access to data from the production environment when they are:
- developing new applications
- maintaining or enhancing existing applications
- working in test environments to test the functionality of applications
Production data commonly includes sensitive information that by law needs to be protected. However, it is not uncommon in the app/dev life cycle for the same sensitive data that is found in production to appear in non-production environments used for application development and testing.
The masking features in the Masking Engine can be used to ensure that application/test environments do not transmit the sensitive information contained in the parent source. The Masking Engine removes or alters sensitive information without changing the character of the production data, allowing developers and testers to work with the highest quality test data for software development.
Before You Begin
Before getting started, familiarize yourself with the terminology in the Masking Engine Terms Overview. The Masking Engine introduces new terms and concepts that may not be familiar to a Delphix administrator or user.
You will also need a fully installed Masking Engine prior to performing the workflows on this page. If your Masking Engine is not yet configured, see the guide at: Masking Engine Install, System Configuration, and Network Setup.
Virtualization and Masking Engine | |
Who is using this deployment type? | Masking installations on Delphix 5.0 and above |
Installation and deployment details | Delphix Virtualization Engine - Includes the Delphix Masking Engine on VMware. See Installing the Delphix Engine. Delphix Masking Engine only on VMware. See Installing the Delphix Engine. Delphix Masking Engine only on AWS EC2. See Installing the Delphix Engine. Once the Delphix Masking Engine is installed, follow the Masking Engine Install, System Configuration, and Network Setup for instructions to start the masking service. |
| Where to Log In | http://<Delphix Engine IP or DNS name>:8282/dmsuite |
Initial Requirements for all Masking Activities | In the Masking Engine interface:
For detailed instructions, see Prepare Data for Masking and Mask Data. |
To mask data | Masking jobs can be created in the Masking Engine GUI and run via the GUI or API just like Standalone Masking Engines. You can also use the Data as a Service Engine GUI to provision masked virtual databases (VDBs). See Provisioning Masked VDBs for more details. |
Post-Masking Features |
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Enabling the Masking Engine
Every Delphix 5.0 and above engine includes the Masking Engine. For this installation type:
- Review Masking Engine System Requirements.
- Download Delphix 5.0 or above from Delphix Downloads using your Support credentials.
- Install the Delphix Engine 5.0 or above. For requirements and details, see Installing the Delphix Engine.
- Connect to the CLI via SSH as sysadmin or with other system administrator credentials. Then start the Masking Engine with:
system ; startMasking ; commit ; exit - Connect to the Masking Engine at: http://<Delphix Engine IP or DNS name>:8282/dmsuite as the user delphix_admin and password Delphix_123.
Delphix Masking Engine Workflows
Ultimately, the way you use the Delphix Masking Engine will depend on your business needs and security practices. However, there are several common workflows that you will need to understand in order to perform various masking tasks.
Prepare Data for Masking
- Link a dSource.
- Provision a normal VDB in the Delphix Engine.
To learn more, visit Prepare Data for Masking
Create and Run a Simple Masking Job
To create and run a simple masking job in the Masking Engine:
- Identify all sensitive data.
- Select methods for securing data.
- Validate that the methods will work for your needs.
- Implement and create new masking jobs for your target environments.
To learn more, visit Masking Engine Activities. If you are interested in running jobs through the API for automation, you can learn more at Masking API Calls to Run a Masking Job
Provision a Masked VDB
Associate masking jobs with a dSource in the Delphix Engine Admin console.
Use the dSource provision wizard to provision a VDB with a masking job.
- Provision from a masked VDB to create a new masked VDB in the Delphix Engine.
To learn more, visit Provisioning Masked VDBs.
Advanced Integrated Masking Workflows
Other advanced workflows include using masked VDBs for selective data distribution and Jet Stream.
To learn more, visit Advanced Integrated Delphix Masking Workflows.