> Now this is where I probably look stupid but... > > Am I correct in stating that the AES-NI is only really useful for file > encryption... and bugger all use for HTTPS/SSL encryption (which is > what we really want)?
No, AES-NI is very useful for the symmetric part of HTTPS/TLS when using AES ciphers: http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/tls/current/msg09847.html http://www.ietf.org/mail-archive/web/tls/current/msg09853.html https://www.imperialviolet.org/2014/02/27/tlssymmetriccrypto.html http://2013.diac.cr.yp.to/slides/gueron.pdf It doesn't help with the asymmetric part (the TLS handshake) though. Afaik major CDNs like Google and Cloudflare are not using TLS hardware, because the benefits are questionable. Lukas
