NetApp cloud data storage solutions, such as Cloud Volumes ONTAP, are deployed on public cloud infrastructure and do not have direct access to the underlying physical hardware. Consequently, they utilize software-based encryption methods. NetApp Volume Encryption (NVE) and NetApp Aggregate Encryption (NAE) are software-based, data-at-rest encryption features. NVE provides granular encryption at the individual volume level, while NAE encrypts all volumes within an aggregate. Both are fully supported in cloud environments as they are independent of the physical storage media.

B. NetApp self-encrypting drives (SED): SEDs are physical hardware components. Cloud solutions run on virtualized infrastructure, where users do not manage the physical drives.

C. Onboard Key Manager (OKM): OKM is a key management solution for storing encryption keys on the ONTAP cluster; it is not an encryption mechanism itself.

D. NetApp Storage Encryption (NSE): NSE is the NetApp solution that uses hardware-based self-encrypting drives (SEDs) and is therefore not applicable to cloud deployments.

1. NetApp ONTAP Documentation Center, "Overview of NetApp Volume Encryption and NetApp Aggregate Encryption": "NVE and NAE are software-based technologies that allow you to encrypt data at rest one volume or one aggregate at a time, respectively. They are supported for all ONTAP platforms, including ONTAP Select and Cloud Volumes ONTAP."

2. NetApp TR-4567, "NetApp ONTAP Encryption Power Guide", Page 6, Section 2.1: "NetApp offers two software-based encryption solutions: NetApp Volume Encryption (NVE) and NetApp Aggregate Encryption (NAE)... Because NVE and NAE are software based, they can be used on any ONTAP platform (FAS, AFF, ONTAP Select, and Cloud Volumes ONTAP) with any type of disk (SSD, HDD, or array LUNs)."

3. NetApp ONTAP Documentation Center, "Overview of NetApp Storage Encryption (NSE)": "NetApp Storage Encryption (NSE) is a solution that provides full disk encryption (FDE) for data at rest by using special self-encrypting drives (SEDs)." This confirms NSE is a hardware-based solution tied to physical drives.