FAQ

Confidential VM isolates and protects sensitive data inside the processor during active execution. Unlike traditional methods that secure data only at rest or in transit, IONOS CLOUD Confidential VM leverages AMD SEV-SNP hardware to run virtual machines within a hardware-enforced Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). The CPU encrypts the memory space inside this boundary, blocking access from external entities, including the IONOS CLOUD hypervisor layer.

The service runs on AMD EPYC server processors equipped with AMD Secure Encrypted Virtualization with Secure Nested Paging (AMD SEV-SNP).

No. The AMD SEV-SNP hardware encrypts all VM memory allocations through AES-128 XEX using a unique VM Encryption Key (VEK). The AMD Secure Processor generates this key internally and never exposes it to software layers, including the host hypervisor. IONOS CLOUD cannot read, copy, or modify the memory contents of a Confidential VM, even when operating with full root administrative access to the physical host.

No. The AMD CPU hardware restricts VEK visibility completely from software layers. Furthermore, your independent attestation service controls the Volume Master Key (VMK) required to unlock your LUKS2 storage volumes. IONOS CLOUD neither stores nor accesses any cryptographic keys managing your Confidential VM memory or persistent disk storage.

IONOS CLOUD Confidential VM defines a hardware-enforced boundary between platform responsibilities and user responsibilities. IONOS CLOUD manages the physical infrastructure, hypervisor, and AMD SEV-SNP enablement. You manage everything inside the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE): the operating system, applications, encryption keys, attestation service, and attestation policies.

For detailed responsibility matrices and a complete breakdown of who manages each operational layer, see Shared Responsibility Model in the Security and Trust Model.

No: Confidential VM is currently available only in IONOS CLOUD EU data centers provisioned with AMD SEV-SNP-capable hardware. Contact IONOS CLOUD Sales or your technical account manager to verify availability at your target location.

An attestation service is an external security gatekeeper that you deploy and operate independently; IONOS CLOUD does not provide one. It validates hardware attestation reports from your VMs against a measurement policy you define, and releases the VMK only to verified instances. Attestation is optional; VMs can start without it, but without an attestation service there is no cryptographic verification of the software stack and no attestation-based key release. For the IONOS CLOUD open-source reference implementation, see SNPGuard.

You need an active IONOS CLOUD account with Confidential VM enabled in the Frankfurt-East de/fra/2 region, a custom Linux image built with a LAUNCH_ARTIFACTS partition, and optionally a deployed attestation service reachable from the VM network during startup if you intend to use attestation-based key release.

Download verified OVMF firmware builds from ionos-cloud/edk2 releases with SLSA Level 2 provenance.

Register the expected measurement hash with your attestation service before VM startup. A measurement is the cryptographic hash SHA-384 of your VM's firmware, kernel, initrd, and kernel parameters (computed by the AMD hardware at every start). During start, the service verifies the actual measurement matches your registered value; if they match, it releases the VMK, if they differ, the VM does not start.

For step-by-step instructions, see Attest Confidential VM .

No. AMD SEV-SNP locks vCPU and memory allocations permanently at creation time. To change compute resources, prepare a new image with the desired configuration and deploy a new VM. For details, see Fixed vCPU Count at Creation in Limitations.

No. Snapshots are blocked for Confidential VM startup volumes for security reasons. Maintain your image and build pipeline outside IONOS CLOUD. For more information, see No Startup Volume Snapshots in Limitations for details and the exception for volume resizing.

Yes. You can replace the startup volume after VM creation. Note that a new image with different LAUNCH_ARTIFACTS will produce a different measurement; if you use attestation, register the new measurement with your attestation service before starting the VM.

Yes. You can attach multiple block storage volumes. Each must be encrypted with LUKS2, with keys managed through your attestation service or external KMS.

No. Cloud-init v1 is not supported (the image preparation service cannot mount LUKS-encrypted filesystems). Embed configuration during image build or deliver it post-startup through attestation. For more information, see No Cloud-Init v1.

AMD SEV-SNP hardware prevents live migration and in-guest warm restarts. Every host-level maintenance event causes downtime. Restart-tolerant architecture is not optional; it is a prerequisite for production workloads. For hardware details, see No Live Migration and In-Guest Restart Terminates the VM in Limitations.

The following are the three pillars of restart-tolerant architecture:

If you use attestation, every VM start requires a network connection to the attestation service. If the service is unreachable, the VM cannot retrieve its disk keys and fails to complete startup. Deploy redundant attestation service instances to avoid this.

Your application must implement a termination signal handler that drains in-flight requests and closes connections cleanly before shutdown. Applications that corrupt state on an unclean shutdown will lose data when VMs are restarted during maintenance windows.

AMD SEV-SNP uses AES-128 to encrypt VM memory. A unique key is generated per VM by the AMD Secure Processor and never leaves the silicon.

Your enterprise contract limits and the available physical AMD SEV-SNP hardware capacity within your chosen zone dictate your total VM quota limits. Contact your dedicated account manager or IONOS CLOUD support to arrange hardware capacity reservations.

IONOS CLOUD can surrender raw encrypted disk blobs and infrastructure API access logs; however, the platform cannot provide decryption keys. The active memory keys (VEK) reside inside the physical AMD CPU silicon, and your team maintains exclusive administrative control over the attestation service housing the VMK disk keys. As a European entity, IONOS CLOUD isolates EU data center zones from US CLOUD Act jurisdictions. Consult your legal team to assess compliance frameworks matching your operational region.

No. AMD SEV-SNP shields data in use within the local memory lanes only; it does not manipulate network packets leaving the virtual instance. You must configure Transport Layer Security (TLS) termination or establish WireGuard VPN tunnels inside your guest TEE boundaries to protect data in transit.

No. The underlying hardware focuses exclusively on active memory security. You must configure LUKS2 full-disk encryption manually inside your custom image pipeline. The guest OS retrieves the LUKS2 master key from your attestation service following successful hardware verification.

No. AMD SEV-SNP hardware enforces a fixed guest policy that disables debug mode; external memory inspection is impossible. To debug your applications, connect through SSH into the TEE after the VM completes attestation.

Confidential VM is priced based on your hardware configuration. Contact your account manager to receive a custom quote tailored to your regional footprint.

Attestation failures cause the majority of startup loops. Verify the following:

For more information, see Attest Confidential VM .

The physical AMD SEV-SNP hardware interprets in-guest soft restart instructions as a teardown command and terminates the instance. To power cycle a Confidential VM cleanly, invoke the IONOS CLOUD API directly using a POST /servers/{id}/start call after the server reaches a stopped state. For more information, see Restart a Confidential VM .

Yes. Serial console and VNC are supported. You can also connect through SSH into the TEE after attestation completes.