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Hardware Setup

On this page, we will present the settings that are necessary to setup the hardware for Intel TDX. We assume that the proper hardware is present. At the moment, it is only necessary to install an Intel TDX-enabled BIOS, enable Intel TDX in the BIOS, and optionally deploy a specific Intel TDX Module version.

Install Intel TDX-enabled BIOS

To use Intel TDX, a BIOS supporting the functionality is needed. Please reach out to your OEM/ODM or independent BIOS vendor to learn if such a BIOS is available and follow the corresponding installation instructions.

Enable Intel TDX in BIOS

Specific BIOS settings are needed to support Intel TDX. In the following, we present BIOS settings for specific machines and processor generations. Afterwards, we briefly describe these BIOS settings.

Note

The necessary BIOS settings or the menus might differ based on the platform that is used. Please reach out to your OEM/ODM or independent BIOS vendor for instructions dedicated for your BIOS.

BIOS settings for a Quanta S6Q system with 5th Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors

%%{ init: { "flowchart": { "curve": "step", "nodeSpacing": 20, "rankSpacing": 30 } } }%%
flowchart LR
SC[Socket<br />Configuration];
SC --> PC[Processor<br />Configuration];
PC --> B1["Memory Encryption (TME)"] --> B2[Enabled];
PC --> C1["Total Memory Encryption<br />(TME) Bypass"] --> C2[Disabled];
PC --> D1["Total Memory Encryption<br />Multi-Tenant (TME-MT)"] --> D2[Enabled];
PC --> E1["Memory integrity"] --> E2[Enabled or<br />Disabled];
PC --> F1["Trust Domain Extension (TDX)"] --> F2[Enabled];
PC --> G1["TDX Secure Arbitration<br />Mode Loader (SEAM Loader)"] --> G2[Enabled];
PC --> H1[TME-MT/TDX key split] --> H2[Non-zero value]
PC --> I1["SW Guard Extensions (SGX)"] --> I2[Enabled];
PC --> J1[SGX PRM Size] --> J2[Whatever size<br />needed];

BIOS settings for a Beechnut City system with Intel® Xeon® 6 processors

%%{ init: { "flowchart": { "curve": "step", "nodeSpacing": 20, "rankSpacing": 30 } } }%%
flowchart LR
SC[Socket<br />Configuration];
SC --> SeC[Security<br />Configuration];
SeC --> A1["Memory Encryption (TME)"] --> A2[Enabled];
SeC --> B1["Total Memory Encryption<br />Multi-Tenant (TME-MT)"] --> B2[Enabled];
SeC --> D1["Memory integrity"] --> D2[Enabled or<br />Disabled];
SeC --> F1["Trust Domain Extension (TDX)"] --> F2[Enabled];
SeC --> G1["TDX Secure Arbitration<br />Mode Loader (SEAM Loader)"] --> G2[Enabled];
SeC --> H1[TME-MT/TDX key split] --> H2[Non-zero value]
SeC --> I1["SW Guard Extensions (SGX)"] --> I2[Enabled];
SeC --> J1[SGX PRMRR Size] --> J2[Whatever size<br />needed];
SC --> P1[Uncore<br />Configuration] --> P2[Uncore General<br />Configuration] --> P3[Limit CPU<br />PA to 46 bits] --> P4[Disabled]

Explanation of BIOS settings:

BIOS setting Notes
Volatile Memory Mode Defines how memory is connected to the system.
Memory Encryption (TME) Activates/deactivates Intel® Total Memory Encryption, which is a prerequisite for Intel® Total Memory Encryption–Multi-Key (Intel TME-MK).
Total Memory Encryption (TME) Bypass Activates/deactivates the Intel TME bypass mode. This mode allows memory outside of Intel TME-MK VMs, Intel SGX enclaves, and Intel TDX Trust Domains to be unencrypted to improve the performance of non-confidential software.
Total Memory Encryption Multi-Tenant (TME-MT) Activates/deactivates Intel® Total Memory Encryption–Multi-Key (Intel TME-MK), which is used by Intel TDX for the main memory encryption.
Memory integrity If disabled, only Logical Integrity (SW integrity) is used for main memory protection. If enabled, Cryptographic Integrity (HW integrity) is also used for main memory protection. Cryptographic integrity augments encryption by computing a 29-bit Hash-based Message Authentication Code (HMAC) and storing it in DDR5 ECC bits to protect against certain physical attacks. With Cryptographic Integrity, metadata and the HMAC value occupy 32 of the 128 ECC bits associated with each cache line, leaving 96 bits for error correction; the data cache line remains 64 bytes. This is expected to reduce Single Device Data Correction from 99.999999999999999% (15-decimal places) to 99.9999999% (7-decimal places). NOTE: Enabling Cryptographic Integrity requires that DDR5 10x4 DIMMs are installed.
Trust Domain Extension (TDX) Activates/deactivates Intel TDX.
TDX Secure Arbitration Mode Loader (SEAM Loader) Defines from where the Intel TDX Module is loaded.
TME-MT/TDX key split Defines how many keys are used for Intel TME-MK and how many for Intel TDX.
SW Guard Extensions (SGX) Activates/deactivates Intel SGX, which is used by Intel TDX for remote attestation.
SGX PRM/PRMRR Size Defines the size of the Processor Reserved Memory (PRM), which is used by Intel SGX to hold enclaves and related protected data structures. A minimum SGX PRM is required to run the Quote Generation Service (QGS) on the host OS (or inside a dedicated VM).

Deploy Specific Intel TDX Loader Version

Once you install a BIOS with Intel TDX support, it will include an Intel TDX Module and a corresponding Intel TDX Loader. The Intel TDX Loader is responsible to only load Intel-signed Intel TDX Module versions. To get other versions of the Intel TDX Loader, you have two options:

  1. Update Intel TDX Loader via BIOS update.
  2. Update Intel TDX Loader via binary deployment.

In the following subsections, we provide more details on these two update variants. Independent of the used variant, please consider the following details:

  • Different platforms might require different Intel TDX Loader binaries.
  • With both of these Intel TDX Loader update variants, a system reboot is required. Accordingly, all running VMs or TDs have to be stopped before updating.

Steps:

  1. Reach out to your OEM/ODM or Independent BIOS Vendor (IBV) to ask for a BIOS containing another version of the Intel TDX Loader.
  2. Once available, retrieve the BIOS update.
  3. Flash the BIOS update according to the instructions of the BIOS provider.

Steps:

  1. Download the Intel TDX Loader binary:

    Note

    Make sure to download the correct Intel TDX Loader for your particular CPU. The increasing version numbers do not necessarily indicate the latest for your particular CPU model. Instead, carefully read the "supported platforms" section of the release note.

  2. Unpack the downloaded archive:

    tar -xvzf intel_tdx_loader.tar.gz

  3. If not done before, create an EFI directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /boot/efi/EFI/TDX/

  4. Copy the Intel TDX Loader binary to the EFI directory created in step 3:

    sudo cp TDX-Loader/intel_tdx_loader.bin \
    /boot/efi/EFI/TDX/TDX-SEAM_SEAMLDR.bin

    Note

    The name of the binary in the EFI directory has to be TDX-SEAM_SEAMLDR.bin.

    Note

    The downloaded archive might contain multiple binaries. In this case, the file name specifies the supported platform. For example:

    intel_tdx_loader_srf.bin
intel_tdx_loader_gnr.bin

    In the example, srf refers to Intel® Xeon® 6 processor with E-cores (formerly codenamed Sierra Forest) and gnr refers to Intel® Xeon® 6 processor with P-cores (formerly codenamed Granite Rapids). Make sure to copy the correct one for your particular CPU.

  5. Check that the copied file is present in /boot/efi/EFI/TDX/ with a current date:

    sudo ls -ls /boot/efi/EFI/TDX/

  6. Reboot your machine.

How to reproduce an Intel TDX Loader binary?

Every Intel TDX Loader release comes with corresponding build instructions. Please follow these build instructions.

How to run an Intel TDX Loader build from source?

You cannot run an Intel TDX Loader build from source, because only binaries officially released and signed by Intel are allowed to run. Intel does not provide an environment to use Intel TDX with non-signed binaries.

Deploy Specific Intel TDX Module Version

Once you install a BIOS with Intel TDX support, it will include an Intel TDX Module and a corresponding Intel TDX Loader. To get other versions of the Intel TDX Module, you have two options:

  1. Update Intel TDX Module via BIOS update.
  2. Update Intel TDX Module via binary deployment.

In the following subsections, we provide more details on these two update variants. Independent of the used variant, please consider the following details:

  • Different platforms might require different Intel TDX Module binaries.
  • With both of these Intel TDX Module update variants, a system reboot is required. Accordingly, all running VMs or TDs have to be stopped before updating.
  • Installing a specific Intel TDX Module version will make use of the Intel TDX Loader already present in the system BIOS even if updating via binary deployment.

Steps:

  1. Reach out to your OEM/ODM or Independent BIOS Vendor (IBV) to ask for a BIOS containing another version of the Intel TDX Module.
  2. Once available, retrieve the BIOS update.
  3. Flash BIOS update according the instructions of the BIOS provider.

Steps:

  1. Download the Intel TDX Module binary:

    • Navigate to the releases page of the Intel TDX Module.
    • Download the archive intel_tdx_module.tar.gz from the release you want to use, which contains an Intel TDX Module and a corresponding signature structure.

    Note

    Make sure to download the correct Intel TDX Module for your particular CPU. The increasing version numbers do not necessarily indicate the latest for your particular CPU model. Instead, carefully read the "supported platforms" section of the release notes.

  2. Unpack the downloaded archive:

    tar -xvzf intel_tdx_module.tar.gz

  3. If not done before, create an EFI directory:

    sudo mkdir -p /boot/efi/EFI/TDX/

  4. Copy the Intel TDX Module binary and the corresponding signature structure to the EFI directory created in step 3.

    sudo cp TDX-Module/intel_tdx_module.so \
    /boot/efi/EFI/TDX/TDX-SEAM.so
sudo cp TDX-Module/intel_tdx_module.so.sigstruct \
    /boot/efi/EFI/TDX/TDX-SEAM.so.sigstruct

    Note

    The name of the binaries in the EFI directory have to be TDX-SEAM.so and TDX-SEAM.so.sigstruct.

  5. Check that the copied files are present in /boot/efi/EFI/TDX/ with a current date:

    sudo ls -ls /boot/efi/EFI/TDX/

  6. Reboot your machine.

How to reproduce an Intel TDX Module binary?

Every Intel TDX Module release comes with corresponding build instructions. Please follow these build instructions.

How to run an Intel TDX Module build from source?

You cannot run an Intel TDX Module build from source, because only binaries officially released and signed by Intel are allowed to run. Intel does not provide an environment to use Intel TDX with non-signed binaries.