IBM Hardware Management Console Installing And Configuring page 20

v Greater reliability
The following security characteristics are in effect, regardless of the connectivity method chosen:
v Remote Support Facility requests are always initiated from the HMC to IBM. An inbound connection is
never initiated from the IBM Service Support System.
v All data transferred between the HMC and the IBM Service Support System are encrypted using a
high-grade encryption. Depending upon the connectivity method chosen, it is encrypted using either
SSL or IPSec Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP).
When initializing the encrypted connection the HMC authenticates the target destination as that of the
v
IBM Service Support System.
Data sent to the IBM Service Support System consists solely of information about hardware problems and
configuration. No application or customer data is transmitted to IBM.
Using an indirect Internet connection with a proxy server
If your installation requires the HMC to be on a private network, you may be able to connect indirectly
to the Internet using an SSL proxy, which can forward requests to the Internet. One of the other potential
advantages of using an SSL proxy is that the proxy may support logging and audit facilities.
To forward SSL sockets, the proxy server must support the basic proxy header functions (as described in
RFC 2616) and the CONNECT method. Optionally, basic proxy authentication (RFC 2617) may be
configured so that the HMC authenticates before attempting to forward sockets through the proxy server.
For the HMC to communicate successfully, the client's proxy server must allow connections to port 443.
You can configure your proxy server to limit the specific IP addresses to which the HMC can connect. See
"Internet SSL address lists" on page 7 for a list of IP addresses.
Using a direct Internet SSL connection
If your HMC can be connected to the Internet, and the external firewall can be set up to allow established
TCP packets to flow outbound to the destinations described in "Internet SSL address lists" on page 7, you
can use a direct Internet connection.
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Power Systems: Installing and configuring the Hardware Management Console