Anyone have any comments on SSL Accelerators?

[Dan Browning]

I'm thinking about getting an SSL Accelerator.  Intel has one that
intercepts packets in-between your web server(s) and net connection.  Then
it does the encryption/decryption required and passes the traffic along to
the web server(s).
It's called the NetStructure(TM) 7110 e-Commerce Accelerator and the
NetStructure(TM) 7180 e-Commerce Director.  I've included an HTML for ref.
Has anyone had any experience with these or other accelerators?
Intel says that 90% of cpu util can be SSL (sounds fishy to me).

I would just be interested in any comments you might have.  Thanks,

Dan Browning
Network & Database Administrator
Cyclone Computer Systems

Title: NetStructure(TM) 7110 e-Commerce Accelerator;NetStructure(TM) 7180 e-Commerce Director

e-Commerce Home Manuals & Literature NetStructure Support Services The column at the left has information to answer your questions. Select an information category and you'll see indexes of what is available. Here you'll find self-help information for the Intel� NetStructure™ 7110 e-Commerce Accelerator and Intel� NetStructure™ 7180 e-Commerce Director. Java™ Plug-in The Java™ Plug-in version 1.1.1 required for GUI management is no longer available from Sun Microsystems website. Click here to download a copy. Cascading the Intel NetStructure 7110 See: "Cascading the Intel NetStructure 7110" for information on cascading multiple NetStructure 7110's together and quantity needed for optimal performance Can the NetStructure 7110 be administered remotely? Yes, however, it is recommended to have local configuration and management whenever possible. See document: "Options for Remote Management". Does the NetStructure 7110 use an IP address? No. For security reasons, the NetStructure 7110 does not utilize an IP address. Dispensing with an IP address greatly reduces the ‘network profile’ of the NetStructure 7110. Vulnerability to hostile intrusion is greatly reduced by the NetStructure 7110’s low network profile. NetStructure 7110 Activity Statistics The NetStructure 7110 provides detailed statistics on encrypted traffic load, SSL connections per second, CPU utilization, network information, plus configuration options. Does the NetStructure 7110 support SSL Session ID Reuse? Yes, NetStructure 7110 does support SSL Session ID Reuse. See: "SSL Session Reuse and Security" for more information. Is the NetStructure 7110 limited to processing taffic on port 443? No. HTTPS is the well-known protocol for port 443, but the NetStructure 7110 can be configured to look at any port for SSL traffic. Is the NetStructure 7110 limited to accelerating HTTPS requests? No. The NetStructure 7110 is designed to accelerate SSL, which is not limited to HTTPS. While HTTPS is the most commonly used protocol, other applications that use SSL include LDAPS (secure directories), IMAPS, and SMTPS (secure Email). The NetStructure 7110 supports SSL v2, SSL v3, as well as TLSv1 and HTTP 1.0 and 1.1. Where do I get certificates for my NetStructure 7110? Companies called "Certificate Authorities" issue certificates. See: "Obtaining Certificates for the NetStructure 7110" for more information. Server type to specify when requesting a certificate from a Certificate Authority When asked for a server type, select Apache, SSLeay, or OpenSSL as appropriate. If none of those are listed, ask for a PEM format certificate, which will work as well. What happens to clear traffic that is addressed to the server? The NetStructure 7110 passes clear traffic through the system without any changes. Typical latency is less than one millisecond. The NetStructure 7110 acts like an Ethernet switch for all traffic except SSL traffic. SSL key creation overhead compared to the exchange of encrypted information Although key generation uses the greatest number of CPU cycles, bulk data encryption still absorbs more CPU resources than clear processing. See: "SSL Key Generation and CPU Resources" for more information. What is SSL Sticky, and why is it important? See: "SSL Sticky and the e-Commerce Director" for more information. * Legal Information and Privacy Policy � 2000 Intel Corporation