Oracle Key Vault (OKV) Endpoint (EP) Health Check: Best Practices & Troubleshooting Tips

 

Intro 

Oracle Key Vault (OKV) plays a vital role in the AI era, where data security, encryption, and regulatory compliance are more critical than ever. OKV communicates securely with its targets using KMIP (Key Management Interoperability Protocol) over TLS. In simple terms, without a properly configured OKV Endpoint (EP), OKV cannot communicate with the target system.

Installing the Endpoint is essential because it provides the secure link between the database and OKV.
 

                                             Figure 1 : OKV communication with target

Before installing the OKV Endpoint agent, there are several prerequisites to consider. One of the most important is the correct folder structure. All required directories must be created directly under the wallet_root location.

Folder structure required for OKV installation. 

mkdir -p /u01/app/oracle/admin/TCDB/wallet_root/tde - Location for TDE keys
mkdir -p /u01/app/oracle/admin/TCDB/wallet_root/okv - Location for OKV End point
mkdir -p /u01/app/oracle/admin/TCDB/wallet_root/tde_seps - Location for External SSO Key    

After extracting the OKV Endpoint binary, it's important to run the provided health check script. This script validates the endpoint configuration, ensuring everything is set up correctly. If there are any issues especially with the folder structure the health check will flag them.

The OKV health check scripts are located in the bin directory of the extracted endpoint package. Below is a sample taken from an Oracle DBCS (Database Cloud Service) instance:

[oracle@dbsdpl55 bin]$ pwd
/opt/oracle/dcs/commonstore/wallets/PWHSE01_3c9_yyz/okv/bin
[oracle@dbsdpl55 bin]$ ls -lrth
total 8.4M
-rw-r--r-- 1 oracle oinstall    0 May 23 11:11 okv.log.0
-rwxr-x--- 1 oracle oinstall 5.3K May 23 15:03 root.sh
-rwxr-x--- 1 oracle oinstall 8.0K May 23 15:03 okvutil
-rwxr-x--- 1 oracle oinstall  29K May 23 15:03 okv_ssh_ep_lookup_authorized_keys
-rwxr-x--- 1 oracle oinstall 8.4M May 23 15:03 okveps.x64
-rwxr-x--- 1 oracle oinstall  20K May 23 15:03 ep_healthcheck.sh
[oracle@dbsdpl55 bin]$

Executing OKV Endpoint Health Check.

Once the OKV Endpoint binary is extracted and the environment is set up, you should run the health check script to validate the configuration. Below is a sample output from a DBCS environment:

 
 [oracle@dbsdpl55 bin]$ ./ep_healthcheck.sh
Verifying the environment variables...
PASSED.


Verifying if there are multiple HSM libraries...
PASSED.


WALLET_ROOT=/opt/oracle/dcs/commonstore/wallets/PWHSE01_3c9_yyz is set. Verifying whether okv,tde and tde_seps folders exist under /opt/oracle/dcs/commonstore/wallets/PWHSE01_3c9_yyz...
PASSED.


Verifying whether the environment variables set for gen0 process...
PASSED.


Verifying whether Oracle Key Vault client configuration is set correctly...
PASSED.


Verifying whether the SSL wallet location is set correctly...
PASSED.

Enter endpoint Password (for an auto login endpoint, just press Enter):
Verifying whether okvutil fetches data successfully...

Connected to 10.0.0.180:5696.
7F7407FF-651F-412B-834C-A616BC97C509    Template        Default template for PWHSE01_EP
PASSED.



Fetching Persistent cache details...
WARNING: Persistent Cache file doesn't exist. If the 'EXPIRE PKCS11 PERSISTENT CACHE ON DATABASE SHUTDOWN' parameter is configured for this endpoint then persistent cache will not be accessible. Please note that this parameter won't appear in the okvclient.ora file and can be modified only from OKV webconsole.
DONE.

Verifying whether PKCS Library is set correctly...
PASSED.


Please verify /opt/oracle/dcs/commonstore/wallets/PWHSE01_3c9_yyz/okv/log/ep_healthcheck_PWHSE01_2025.05.23-11.25.01.log for more details.

[oracle@dbsdpl55 bin]$

 
 

Conclusion

In today's AI-driven landscape, where safeguarding sensitive data is paramount, Oracle Key Vault (OKV) offers a robust and centralized approach to managing encryption keys and secrets. A correctly configured OKV Endpoint (EP) is not just a technical requirement—it is the foundation for secure communication between the database and OKV. By ensuring the proper setup of the EP, including the necessary folder structures and successful health checks, organizations can enforce strong encryption practices, maintain compliance, and confidently protect their data assets in both on-premises and cloud environments.