Cisco recently introduced a way to beef up the processing of VPN traffic through two of its routers. The company has announced a VPN Module for its 2600 and 3600 series routers, a card that plugs in to the modular chassis and adds processors to handle encryption. The main central processing unit is not taxed with that chore and therefore the router performs better when it is under load. In addition to encryption, the module takes care of other VPN-related processing, such as hashing, key exchanges and maintaining security associations.
Cisco says that is a tenfold improvement.
The maximum number of individual IPSec tunnels the boxes can support ranges from 300 on the 2600 to 2,000 on the 3660. This addition to the Cisco line insures that when the time comes, companies using these boxes to support their VPNs will be able to boost their performance without ripping these routers out and replacing them with more costly, new chassis. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused. Tim Greene is a senior editor at Network World, covering virtual private networking gear, remote access, core switching and local phone companies. Network World VPNs archive Past newsletters.