Benchmarking Working Group                                     M. Bustos
Internet-Draft                                                      IXIA
Expires: May 1, 2004                                        T. Van Herck
                                                     Cisco Systems, Inc.
                                                                 M. Kaeo
                                                            Merike, Inc.
                                                           November 2003


               Terminology for Benchmarking IPSec Devices
                     draft-ietf-bmwg-ipsec-term-02

Status of this Memo

   This document is an Internet-Draft and is in full conformance with
   all provisions of Section 10 of RFC2026.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF), its areas, and its working groups. Note that other
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   Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months
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   The list of current Internet-Drafts can be accessed at http://
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   The list of Internet-Draft Shadow Directories can be accessed at
   http://www.ietf.org/shadow.html.

   This Internet-Draft will expire on May 1, 2004.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2003). All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

   This purpose of this document is to define terminology specific to
   measuring the performance of IPsec devices.  It builds upon the
   tenets set forth in RFC 1242, RFC 2544, RFC 2285 and other IETF
   Benchmarking Methodology Working Group (BMWG) documents used for
   benchmarking routers and switches. This document seeks to extend
   these efforts specific to the IPsec paradigm. The BMWG produces two
   major classes of documents: Benchmarking Terminology documents and
   Benchmarking Methodology documents. The Terminology documents present
   the benchmarks and other related terms. The Methodology documents



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   define the procedures required to collect the benchmarks cited in the
   corresponding Terminology documents.

Table of Contents

   1.     Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   2.     IPsec Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
   2.1    IPsec Operation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   2.1.1  Security Associations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   2.1.2  Key Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
   3.     Document Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   4.     Definition Format  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
   5.     Key Words to Reflect Requirements  . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   6.     Existing Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
   7.     Term Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   7.1    Tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   7.1.1  Configured Tunnel  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  10
   7.1.2  Established Tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   7.1.3  Active Tunnel  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  11
   7.1.4  Terminated Tunnel  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   7.2    IPsec  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
   7.3    IPsec Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
   7.3.1  Initiator  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
   7.3.2  Responder  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
   7.3.3  IPsec Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  15
   7.3.4  IPsec Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
   7.4    ISAKMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  16
   7.5    IKE  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  17
   7.6    Security Association (SA)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
   7.7    IKE Phase 1  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
   7.7.1  Phase 1 Main Mode  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
   7.7.2  Phase 1 Aggressive Mode  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
   7.8    IKE Phase 2  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
   7.8.1  Phase 2 Quick Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
   7.8.2  IPsec Tunnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
   7.9    Iterated Tunnels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
   7.9.1  Nested Tunnels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
   7.9.2  Transport Adjacency  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
   7.10   Transform protocols  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
   7.10.1 Authentication Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
   7.10.2 Encryption Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
   7.11   IPSec Protocols  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
   7.11.1 Authentication Header (AH) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
   7.11.2 Encapsulated Security Payload (ESP)  . . . . . . . . . . .  26
   7.12   Selectors  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  27
   7.13   NAT Traversal (NAT-T)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  28
   7.14   IP Compression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  28
   7.15   Security Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29



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   8.     Performance Metrics  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31
   8.1    Tunnels Per Second (TPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31
   8.2    Tunnel Rekeys Per Seconds (TRPS) . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31
   8.3    Tunnel Attempts Per Second (TAPS)  . . . . . . . . . . . .  32
   9.     Test Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  32
   9.1    Framesizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  32
   9.1.1  Layer3 clear framesize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  32
   9.1.2  Layer3 encrypted framesize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  33
   9.1.3  Layer2 clear framesize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  34
   9.1.4  Layer2 encrypted framesize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  35
   9.2    Internet Mix Traffic (IMIX)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  35
   9.3    Throughput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  36
   9.3.1  IPsec Tunnel Throughput  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  36
   9.3.2  IPsec Encryption Throughput  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  37
   9.3.3  IPsec Decryption Throughput  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  37
   9.4    Latency  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  38
   9.4.1  Tunnel Latency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  38
   9.4.2  IPsec Tunnel Encryption Latency  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  39
   9.4.3  IPsec Tunnel Decryption Latency  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  40
   9.4.4  Time To First Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  40
   9.5    Frame Loss Rate  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  41
   9.5.1  Tunnel Frame Loss Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  41
   9.5.2  IPsec Tunnel Encryption Frame Loss Rate  . . . . . . . . .  42
   9.5.3  IPsec Tunnel Decryption Frame Loss Rate  . . . . . . . . .  43
   9.6    Back-to-back Frames  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43
   9.6.1  Tunnel Back-to-back Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  43
   9.6.2  Encryption Back-to-back Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  44
   9.6.3  Decryption Back-to-back Frames . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  45
   9.7    Maximum Number of Tunnels  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  45
   9.7.1  Maximum Configured Tunnels (MCT) . . . . . . . . . . . . .  45
   9.7.2  Maximum Active Tunnels (MAT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  46
   9.8    Tunnel Setup Rate Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  46
   9.8.1  Tunnel Setup Rate  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  46
   9.8.2  IKE Setup Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  47
   9.8.3  IPsec Setup Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  47
   9.9    Tunnel Rekey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  48
   9.9.1  Phase 1 Rekey Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  48
   9.9.2  Phase 2 Rekey Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  49
   9.10   Tunnel Failover Time (TFT) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  49
   10.    IKE DOS Resilience Rate  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  50
   11.    Security Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  51
   12.    Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  51
   13.    Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  51
          Normative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  51
          Informative References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  53
          Authors' Addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  53
          Intellectual Property and Copyright Statements . . . . . .  55




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1. Introduction

   Despite the need to secure communications over a public medium there
   is no standard method of performance measurement nor a standard in
   the terminology used to develop such hardware/software solutions.
   This results in varied implementations which challenge
   interoperability and direct performance comparisons. Standarized
   IPsec terminology and performance test methodologies will enable
   users to decide if the IPsec device they select will withstand
   relatively heavy loads of secured traffic.

   To appropriately define the parameters and scope of this
   document,this section will give a brief overview of the IPsec
   standard:

2. IPsec Fundamentals

   IPsec is a framework of open standards that provides data
   confidentiality, data integrity, and data authenticity between
   participating peers. IPsec provides these security services at the IP
   layer. IPsec uses IKE to handle negotiation of protocols and
   algorithms based on local policy, and to generate the encryption and
   authentication keys to be used. IPsec can be used to protect one or
   more data flows between a pair of hosts, between a pair of security
   gateways, or between a security gateway and a host. The IPsec
   protocol suite set of standards is documented in RFC's 2401 through
   2412 and RFC 2451. The reader is assumed to be familiar with these
   documents. Some Internet Drafts supersede these RFC's and will be
   taken into consideration.

   IPsec itself defines the following:

   Authentication Header (AH): A security protocol, defined in
   [RFC2402], which provides data authentication and optional
   anti-replay services. AH ensures the integrity and data origin
   authentication of the IP datagram as well as the invariant fields in
   the outer IP header.

   Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP): A security protocol, defined in
   [RFC2406], which provides confidentiality, data origin
   authentication, connectionless integrity, an anti-replay service and
   limited traffic flow confidentiality. The set of services provided
   depends on options selected at the time of Security Association (SA)
   establishment and on the location of the implementation in a network
   topology. ESP authenticates only headers and data after the IP
   header.

   Internet Key Exchange (IKE): A hybrid protocol which implements



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   Oakley and SKEME key exchanges inside the ISAKMP framework. While IKE
   can be used with other protocols, its initial implementation is with
   the IPsec protocol. IKE provides authentication of the IPsec peers,
   negotiates IPsec security associations, and establishes IPsec keys.

   The AH and ESP protocols each support two modes of operation:
   transport mode and tunnel mode. In transport mode, two hosts provide
   protection primarily for upper-layer protocols. The cryptographic
   endpoints (where the encryption and decryption take place) are the
   source and destination of the data packet. In IPv4, a transport mode
   security protocol header appears immediately after the IP header and
   before any higher-layer protocols (such as TCP or UDP).

   In the case of AH in transport mode, all upper-layer information is
   protected, and all fields in the IPv4 header excluding the fields
   typically are modified in transit. The fields of the IPv4 header that
   are not included are, therefore, set to 0 before applying the
   authentication algorithm. These fields are as follows:

        * TOS
        * TTL
        * Header Checksum
        * Offset
        * Flags

   In the case of ESP in transport mode, security services are provide
   only for the higher-layer protocols, not for the IP header. A tunnel
   is a vehicle for encapsulating packets inside a protocol that is
   understood at the entry and exit points of a given network. These
   entry and exit points are defined as tunnel interfaces.

   Tunnel mode can be supported by data packet endpoints as well as by
   intermediate security gateways. In tunnel mode, there is an "outer"
   IP header that specifies the IPsec processing destination, plus an
   "inner" IP header that specifies the ultimate destination for the
   packet. The source address in the outer IP header is the initiating
   cryptographic endpoint; the source address in the inner header is the
   true source address of the packet. The security protocol header
   appears after the outer IP header and before the inner IP header.

   If AH is employed in tunnel mode, portions of the outer IP header are
   given protection (those same fields as for transport mode, described
   earlier in this section), as well as all of the tunneled IP packet
   (that is, all of the inner IP header is protected as are the
   higher-layer protocols). If ESP is employed, the protection is
   afforded only to the tunneled packet, not to the outer header.





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2.1 IPsec Operation

2.1.1 Security Associations

   The concept of a Security Association (SA) is fundamental to IPsec.
   An SA is a relationship between two or more entities that describes
   how the entities will use security services to communicate securely.
   The SA includes: an encryption algorithm, an authentication algorithm
   and a shared session key.

   Because an SA is unidirectional, two SAs (one in each direction) are
   required to secure typical, bidirectional communication between two
   entities. The security services associated with an SA can be used for
   AH or ESP, but not for both. If both AH and ESP protection is applied
   to a traffic stream, two (or more) SAs are created for each direction
   to protect the traffic stream.

   The SA is uniquely identified by the security parameter index (SPI)
   [RFC2406]. When a system sends a packet that requires IPsec
   protection, it looks up the SA in its database and applies the
   specified processing and security protocol (AH/ESP), inserting the
   SPI from the SA into the IPsec header. When the IPsec peer receives
   the packet, it looks up the SA in its database by destination
   address, protocol, and SPI and then processes the packet as required.

2.1.2 Key Management

   IPsec uses cryptographic keys for authentication/integrity and
   encryption services. Both manual and automatic distribution of keys
   is supported. IKE is specified as the public-key-based approach for
   automatic key management.

   IKE authenticates each peer involved in IPsec, negotiates the
   security policy, and handles the exchange of session keys. IKE is a
   hybrid protocol, combining parts of the following protocols to
   negotiate and derive keying material for SAs in a secure and
   authenticated manner:

   1.  ISAKMP (Internet Security Association and Key Management
       Protocol), which provides a framework for authentication and key
       exchange but does not define them. ISAKMP is designed to be key
       exchange independent; it is designed to support many different
       key exchanges.

   2.  Oakley, which describes a series of key exchanges, called modes,
       and details the services provided by each (for example, perfect
       forward secrecy for keys, identity protection, and
       authentication). [RFC2412]



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   3.  [SKEME] (Secure Key Exchange Mechanism for Internet), which
       describes a versatile key exchange technique that provides
       anonymity, reputability, and quick key refreshment.

   IKE creates an authenticated, secure tunnel between two entities and
   then negotiates the security association for IPsec. This is performed
   in two phases.

   In Phase 1, the two unidirectional SA's establish a secure,
   authenticated channel with which to communicate. Phase 1 has two
   distinct modes; Main Mode and Aggressive Mode. Main Mode for Phase 1
   provides identity protection. When identity protection is not needed,
   Aggressive Mode can be used. The completion of Phase 1 an IKE SA is
   established.

   The following attributes are used by IKE and are negotiated as part
   of the IKE SA:

   o  Encryption algorithm.

   o  Hash algorithm.

   o  Authentication method (digital signature, public-key encryption,
      or pre-shared key).

   o  Diffie-Hellman group information.

   After the attributes are negotiated, both parties must be
   authenticated to each other. IKE supports multiple authentication
   methods. At this time, the following mechanisms are generally
   implemented:

   o  Preshared keys. The same key is pre-installed on each host. IKE
      peers authenticate each other by computing and sending a keyed
      hash of data that includes the preshared key. If the receiving
      peer can independently create the same hash using its preshared
      key, it knows that both parties must share the same secret, and
      thus the other party is authenticated.

   o  Public key cryptography. Each party generates a pseudo-random
      number (a nonce) and encrypts it and its ID using the other
      party's public key. The ability for each party to compute a keyed
      hash containing the other peer's nonce and ID, decrypted with the
      local private key, authenticates the parties to each other. This
      method does not provide nonrepudiation; either side of the
      exchange could plausibly deny that it took part in the exchange.

   o  Digital signature. Each device digitally signs a set of data and



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      sends it to the other party. This method is similar to the
      public-key cryptography approach except that it provides
      nonrepudiation.

   Note that both digital signature and public-key cryptography require
   the use of digital certificates to validate the public/private key
   mapping.  IKE allows the certificate to be accessed independently or
   by having the two devices explicitly exchange certificates as part of
   IKE. Both parties must have a shared session key to encrypt the IKE
   tunnel.  The Diffie-Hellman protocol is used to agree on a common
   session key.

   In Phase 2 of the process, IPsec SAs are negotiated on behalf of
   services such as IPsec AH or ESP. IPsec uses a different shared key
   than does IKE. The IPsec shared key can be derived by using
   Diffie-Hellman again or by refreshing the shared secret derived from
   the original Diffie-Hellman exchange that generated the IKE SA by
   hashing it with nonces. After this step is complete, the IPsec SAs
   are established. Now the data traffic can be exchanged with the
   negotiated IPsec parameters. The completion of Phase 2 is called an
   IPsec SA.

3. Document Scope

   The primary focus of this document is to establish useful performance
   testing terminology for IPsec devices that support IKEv1. We want to
   constrain the terminology specified in this document to meet the
   requirements of the Methodology for Benchmarking IPSec Devices
   documented test methodologies. The testing will be constrained to
   devices acting as IPsec gateways and will pertain to both IPsec
   tunnel and transport mode.

   Any testing involving interoperability and/or conformance issues,
   L2TP, GRE, 2547 (MPLS VPNs), multicast, and anything that does not
   specifically relate to the establishment and tearing down of IPsec
   tunnels is specifically out of scope. It is assumed that all relevant
   networking parameters that facilitate in the running of these tests
   are pre-configured (this includes at a minimum ARP caches and routing
   tables). This document will encompass updates to AH, ESP and NAT
   Traversal.

4. Definition Format

   The definition format utilized by this document is described in
   [RFC1242], Section 2.

   Term to be defined.




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   Definition:

      The specific definition for the term.

   Discussion:

      A brief discussion of the term, its application, or other
      information that would build understanding.

   Issues:

      List of issues or conditions that affect this term. This field can
      present items the may impact the term's related methodology or
      otherwise restrict its measurement procedures.

   [Measurement units:]

      Units used to record measurements of this term. This field is
      mandatory where applicable. This field is optional in this
      document.

   [See Also:]

      List of other terms that are relevant to the discussion of this
      term. This field is optional in this document.


5. Key Words to Reflect Requirements

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119. RFC 2119
   defines the use of these key words to help make the intent of
   standards track documents as clear as possible. While this document
   uses these keywords, this document is not a standards track document.

6. Existing Definitions

   It is recommended that readers consult [RFC1242], [RFC2544] and
   [RFC2285] before making use of this document. These and other IETF
   Benchmarking Methodology Working Group (BMWG) router and switch
   documents contain several existing terms relevant to benchmarking the
   performance of IPsec devices. The conceptual framework established in
   these earlier RFCs will be evident in this document.

   This document also draws on existing terminology defined in other
   BMWG documents. Examples include, but are not limited to:




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             Throughput          [RFC 1242, section 3.17]
             Latency             [RFC 1242, section 3.8]
             Frame Loss Rate     [RFC 1242, section 3.6]
             Forwarding Rates    [RFC 2285, section 3.6]
             Loads               [RFC 2285, section 3.5]

   Note: "DUT/SUT" refers to a metric that may be applicable to a DUT
   (Device Under Test) or an SUT (System Under Test).

7. Term Definitions

7.1 Tunnel

   The term "tunnel" is often used in a variety of contexts. To avoid
   any discrepancies, in this document we define the following
   distinctions between the word "tunnel":

   "IKE Tunnel": (ISAKMP/IKE SA, IKE Phase 1 SA, Phase 1 SA) One simplex
   Phase 1 IKE SA, which is sometimes is also referred to as ISAKMP or
   IKE SA, IKE Phase 1 SA, or Phase 1 SA. An IKE Tunnel between IPSec
   devices facilitates a mechanism for secure negotiation of Phase 1
   properties and 2 SA's needed for protected data transport.

   "IPsec SA": (IPsec SA, IKE Phase 2 SA) One simplex IKE Phase 2 SA,
   which is also referred to as an IPsec SA or IKE Phase 2 SA.

   "IPsec Tunnel": In the case of simplex communication, a single phase
   2 SA. In the more likely case where bidirectional communication is
   needed it is a pair of Phase 2 SA's, one for each direction. Unless
   stated otherwise, bidirectional communication is always assumed. The
   IPSec Tunnel will protect the data traffic flowing between IPSec
   devices.

   "Tunnel": The combination of one IKE Tunnel and one IPsec Tunnel i.e.
   a single Phase 1 SA and a pair of Phase 2 SA's (for bidirectional
   communication).

7.1.1 Configured Tunnel

   Definition:

      A tunnel that is present in the IPSec device's configuration but
      does not have any SA's in the SADB.

   Discussion:






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      Several steps are required before a Tunnel can be used to actually
      trasport data. The very first step would be to configure the
      tunnel in the IPsec device. In that way packet classification can
      make a decision if it is required to start negotiating SA's. At
      this time there are no SA's associated with the Tunnel.

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      Tunnel, Established Tunnel, Active Tunnel, Terminated Tunnel


7.1.2 Established Tunnel

   Definition:

      A Tunnel that has completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 SA negotiations
      but is otherwise idle.

   Discussion:

      A second step needed to ensure that a Tunnel can transport data is
      the Phase 1 and Phase 2 negotiation phase. After the packet
      classification process has asserted that a packet requires
      security services, the negotation is started to obtain both Phase
      1 and Phase 2 SA's. After this is completed the tunnel is called
      'Established'. Note that at this time there is still no traffic
      flowing through the Tunnel.

   Issues:

      In the case of manually keyed tunnels, there is no distinction
      between a Configured Tunnel or an Established Tunnel since there
      is no negotiation required with these type of Tunnels and the
      Tunnel is Established at time of Configuration since all keying
      information is known at that point.

   See Also:

      Tunnel, Configured Tunnel, Active Tunnel, Terminated Tunnel


7.1.3 Active Tunnel





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   Definition:

      A tunnel that has completed Phase 1 and Phase 2 SA negotiations
      and is transmitting data.

   Discussion:

      When a Tunnel is Established it is ready to transport data
      traffic, and we call the tunnel 'Active'.

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      Tunnel, Configured Tunnel, Established Tunnel, Terminated Tunnel


7.1.4 Terminated Tunnel

   Definition:

      A tunnel that has relinquished all it's SA's and is not
      transmitting data anymore.

   Discussion:

      At the point where it is no longer required to provide security
      services between IPsec devices, first the Phase 2 SA's are
      released after which the Phase 1 SA is deleted and the Tunnel is
      no longer. After all resources (SA's) are (in most cases
      volountary released) the Tunnel returns to a 'Configured' state.

   Issues:

      Note that manually keyed tunnels never can be in a Terminated
      state. The only way to prevent data forwarding over a manually
      keyed tunnel is to deconfigure the Tunnel.

   See Also:

      Tunnel, Configured Tunnel, Established Tunnel, Active Tunnel


7.2 IPsec





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   Definition:

      IPsec or IP Security protocol suite which comprises a set of
      standards used to provide security services at the IP layer.

   Discussion:

      IPsec is a large framework of protocols that offer authentication,
      authenticity and encryption services to the IP and/or upper layer
      protocols. The major components of the protocol suite are IKE,
      used for key exchanges, and IPsec protocols such as AH and ESP,
      which use the exchanged keys to protect payload traffic.

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      IPsec Device, IKE, ISAKMP, ESP, AH


7.3 IPsec Device

   Definition:

      Any implementation that has the ability to process data flows
      according to the IPsec protocol suite specifications.

   Discussion:

      Implementations can be grouped by 'external' properties (e.g.
      software vs. hardware implementations) but more important is the
      subtle differences that implementations may have with relation to
      the IPsec Protocol Suite. Not all implementations will cover all
      RFC's that encompass the IPsec Protocol Suite, but the majority
      will support a large subset of features described in the suite,
      nor will all implementations utilize all of the cryptographic
      functions listed in the RFCs.

      In that context, any implementation, that supports basic IP layer
      security services as described in the IPsec protocol suite shall
      be called an IPsec Device.

   Issues:






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      Due to the fragmented nature of the IPsec Protocol Suite RFC's, it
      is possible that IPsec implementations will not be able to
      interoperate. Therefore it is important to know which features and
      options are implemented in the IPsec Device.

   See Also:

      IPsec


7.3.1 Initiator

   Definition:

      IPsec devices which start the negotiation of IKE Phase 1 or IKE
      Phase 2 tunnels.

   Discussion:

      When a traffic flow is offered at an IPSec device and it is
      determined that the flow must be protected, but there is no tunnel
      yet, it is the responsibility of the IPsec device to start a
      negotiation process. This process will establish an IKE Phase 1 SA
      and one or more IKE phase 2 SA's, eventually resulting in secured
      data transport. The device that takes the action to start this
      negotiation process will be called an Initiator. Note that an IKE
      Phase 1 initiator, does not necessarily become an IKE Phase 2
      initiator.

   Issues:

      IPsec devices/implementations can always be both an initiator as
      well as a responder. The distinction is useful from a test
      perspective.

   See Also:

      Responder, IKE, IPsec


7.3.2 Responder

   Definition:

      IPsec devices which reply to the incoming initiators IKE Phase 1
      or Phase 2 tunnel requests and process these messages in order to
      establish a tunnel.




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   Discussion:

      When an initiator attempts to establish SAs with another IPsec
      device, this peer will need to evaluate the proposals made by the
      initiator and either accept or deny them. In the former case, the
      traffic flow will be decrypted according to the negotiated
      parameters. Such a device will be called a Responder.

   Issues:

      IPsec devices/implementations can usually be both an initiator as
      well as a responder. The distinction is useful from a test
      perspective.

   See Also:

      Initiator, IKE


7.3.3 IPsec Client

   Definition:

      IPsec Devices that will only act as an Initiator.

   Discussion:

      In some situations it is not needed or prefered to have an IPsec
      device respond to an inbound tunnel request. In the case of e.g.
      road warriors or home office scenarios the only property needed
      from the IPsec device is the ability to securely connect to a
      remote private network. The IPsec Client will set up one or more
      Tunnels to an IPSec Server on the network that needs to be
      accessed and to provide the required security services. IPsec
      clients are generally used to connect remote users in a secure
      fashion over the Internet to a private network.

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      IPsec device, IPsec Server, Initiator, Responder







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7.3.4 IPsec Server

   Definition:

      IPSec Devices that can both act as an Initiator as well as a
      Responder.

   Discussion:

      IPSec Servers are mostly positioned at private network edges and
      provide several functions :

         Responds to tunnel setup request from IPSec Clients.

         Responds to tunnel setup request from other IPSec devices/
         Initiators.

         Initiate tunnels to other IPSec servers inside or outside the
         private network.

   Issues:

      IPsec Servers are also sometimes referred to as 'concentrators'.

   See Also:

      IPsec Device, IPsec Client, Initiator, Responder


7.4 ISAKMP

   Definition:

      The Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol,
      which provides a framework for authentication and key exchange but
      does not define them. ISAKMP is designed to be key exchange
      independent; it is designed to support many different key
      exchanges. ISAKMP is defined in [RFC2407].

   Discussion:

      Though ISAKMP is only a framework for the IPsec standard key
      management protocol, it is often misused and interchanged with the
      term 'IKE', which is an implementation of ISAKMP. The term ISAKMP
      SA is used by some vendors while others use IKE SA. Both refer to
      IKE Phase 1 SA.





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   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      IKE


7.5 IKE

   Definition:

      A hybrid protocol, defined in [RFC2409], from the following 3
      protocols:

      *  ISAKMP (Internet Security Association and Key Management
         Protocol), which provides a framework for authentication and
         key exchange but does not define them. ISAKMP is designed to be
         key exchange independent; it is designed to support many
         different key exchanges.

      *  Oakley, which describes a series of key exchanges, called
         modes, and details the services provided by each (for example,
         perfect forward secrecy for keys, identity protection, and
         authentication). [RFC2412]

      *  [SKEME] (Secure Key Exchange Mechanism for Internet), which
         describes a versatile key exchange technique that provides
         anonymity, reputability, and quick key refreshment.

   Discussion:

      Note that IKE is an optional protocol within the IPsec framework
      and that tunnels also can be manually keyed resulting in hardwired
      SA's as configured by the administrator.

   Issues:

      During the first IPsec deployment experiences, ambiguities were
      found in the IKEv1 specification, which lead to interoperability
      problems. To resolve these issues, IKEv1 is being updated by
      IKEv2.

   See Also:






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      ISAKMP, IPsec


7.6 Security Association (SA)

   Definition:

      A simplex (unidirectional) logical connection, created for
      security purposes. All traffic traversing an SA is provided the
      same security processing. In IPsec, an SA is an Internet layer
      abstraction implemented through the use of AH or ESP. [RFC2401]

   Discussion:

      A set of policy and key(s) used to protect information. It is a
      negotiation agreement between two IPsec devices, specifically the
      Initiator and Responder.

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      Initiator, Responder


7.7 IKE Phase 1

   Definition:

      The shared policy and key(s) used by negotiating peers to set up a
      secure authenticated "control channel" for further IKE
      communications.

   Discussion:

      Note that IKE is an optional protocol within the IPsec framework
      and keys can also be manually configured.

   Issues:

      In other documents can be referenced as ISAKMP SA or IKE SA.

   See Also:






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      IKE, ISAKMP


7.7.1 Phase 1 Main Mode

   Definition:

      Main Mode is an instantiation of the ISAKMP Identity Protect
      Exchange, defined in [RFC2409]. Upon successful completion it
      results in the establishment of an IKE Phase 1 SA.

   Discussion:

      IKE Main Mode use 3 distinct message pairs, for a total of 6
      messages. The first two messages negotiate policy; the next two
      represent Diffie-Hellman public values and ancillary data (e.g.
      nonces); and the last two messages authenticate the Diffie-Hellman
      Exchange. The authentication method negotiated as part of the
      initial IKE Phase 1 influence the composition of the payloads but
      not their purpose.

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      ISAKMP, IKE, IKE Phase 1, Phase 1 Aggressive Mode


7.7.2 Phase 1 Aggressive Mode

   Definition:

      Aggressive Mode is an instantiation of the ISAKMP Aggressive
      Exchange, defined in [RFC2409]. Upon successful completion it
      results in the establishment of an IKE Phase 1 SA.

   Discussion:

      IKE Aggressive Mode uses 3 messages. The first two messages
      negotiate policy, exchange Diffie-Hellman public values and
      ancillary data necessary for the exchange, and identities. In
      addition the second message authenticates the Responder. The third
      message authenticates the Initiator and provides proof of
      participation in the exchange.





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   Issues:

      For IKEv1 the standard specifies that all implementations use both
      main and agressive mode, however, it is common to use only main
      mode.

   See Also:

      ISAKMP, IKE, IKE Phase 1, Phase 1 Main Mode


7.8 IKE Phase 2

   Definition:

      Protocol which upon successful completion establishes the shared
      keys used by negotiating peers to set up a secure "data channel"
      for IPsec.

   Discussion:

      The main purpose of Phase 2 is to produce the key for the IPsec
      tunnel. Phase 2 is also used to regenerate the key being used for
      IPsec (called "rekeying"), as well as for exchanging informational
      messages.

   Issues:

      In other documents also referenced as IPsec SA.

   See Also:

      IKE Phase 1, ISAKMP, IKE


7.8.1 Phase 2 Quick Mode

   Definition:

      A SA negotiation and an exchange of nonces that provide replay
      protection.

   Discussion:

      Quick Mode is not a complete exchange itself (it is bound to a
      phase 1 exchange), but is used as part of the SA negotiation
      process (phase 2) to derive keying material and negotiate shared
      policy for non-ISAKMP SA's. The ISAKMP SA protects the information



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      exchanged along with Quick Mode, i.e. all payloads except the
      ISAKMP header are encrypted. Also, an optional Key Exchange
      payload can be exchanged to allow for an additional Diffie-Hellman
      exchange, PFS and exponentiation per Quick Mode.

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      ISAKMP, IKE, IKE Phase 2


7.8.2 IPsec Tunnel

   Definition:

      A bidirectional IPsec SA which is set up as part of IKE phase 2.
      It creates the secure data exchange channel.

   Discussion:

      Manually keyed IPsec tunnels differ from tunnels that are
      negotiated by IKE in that there is no setup time for them, which
      would have an effect on tunnel setup rate. For this reason some
      metrics will be eliminated from the test methodology matrix,
      specific to manually keyed IPsec tunnels, i.e. Phase 1 Setup Rate.

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      IPsec, IKE, IKE Phase 2


7.9 Iterated Tunnels

   Iterated Tunnels are a bundle of transport and/or tunnel mode SA's.
   The bundles are divided into two major groups :

7.9.1 Nested Tunnels

   Definition:





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      An SA bundle consisting of two or more 'tunnel mode' SA's.

   Discussion:

      The process of nesting tunnels can theoretically be repeated
      multiple times (for example, tunnels can be many levels deep), but
      for all practical purposes, most implementations limit the level
      of nesting. Nested tunnels can use a mix of AH and ESP
      encapsulated traffic.



      [GW1] --- [GW2] ---- [IP CLOUD] ---- [GW3] --- [GW4]
        |         |                          |         |
        |         |                          |         |
        |         +----{SA1 (ESP tunnel)}----+         |
        |                                              |
        +--------------{SA2 (AH tunnel)}---------------+

      In the IP Cloud a packet would have a format like this :
      [IP{2,3}][ESP][IP{1,4}][AH][IP][PAYLOAD][ESP TRAILER][ESP AUTH]

      Nested tunnels can be deployed to provide additional security on
      already secured traffic. A typical example of this would be that
      the inner gateways (GW2 and GW3) are securing traffic between two
      branch offices and the outer gateways (GW1 & GW4) add an
      additional layer of security between departments within those
      branch offices.

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      Transport Adjacency, IPsec Tunnel


7.9.2 Transport Adjacency

   Definition:

      An SA bundle consisting of two or more transport mode SA's.

   Discussion:






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      Transport adjacency is a form of tunnel nesting.  In this case two
      or more transport mode IPsec tunnels are set side by side to
      enhance applied security properties.

      Transport adjacency can be used with a mix of AH and ESP tunnels
      although some combinations are not preferred. If AH and ESP are
      mixed, the ESP tunnel should always encapsulate the AH tunnel. The
      reverse combination is a valid combination but doesn't make
      cryptographical sense.



      [GW1] --- [GW2] ---- [IP CLOUD] ---- [GW3] --- [GW4]
       | |                                   |         |
       | |                                   |         |
       | +------{SA1 (ESP transport)}--------+         |
       |                                               |
       +-------------{SA2 (AH transport)}--------------+

      In the IP Cloud a packet would have a format like this :
      [IP][ESP][AH][PAYLOAD][ESP TRAILER][ESP AUTH]

   Issues:

      This is rarely used.

   See Also:

      Nested Tunnels, IPsec Tunnel


7.10 Transform protocols

   Definition:

      Encryption and authentication algorithms that provide
      cryptograhical services to the IPsec Protocols.

   Discussion:

      Some algorithms run significantly slower than others. For example,
      TripleDES encryption is one third as fast as DES encryption.

   Issues:

      N/A





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   See Also:

      Authentication protocols, Encryption protocols


7.10.1 Authentication Protocols

   Definition:

      Algorithms which provide data integrity and data source
      authentication.

   Discussion:

      Authentication protocols provide no confidentiality. Commonly used
      authentication algorithms/protocols are:

        * MD5-HMAC
        * SHA-HMAC
        * AES-HMAC

   Issues:

      SHA-HMAC is thought to be more secure than MD5-HMAC and is often
      used. AES-HMAC is still fairly new and not in common use yet.

   See Also:

      Transform protocols, Encryption protocols


7.10.2 Encryption Protocols

   Definition:

      Algorithms which provide data confidentiality.

   Discussion:

      Encryption protocols provide no authentication. Commonly used
      encryption algorithms/protocols are:

        * NULL encryption
        * DES-CBC
        * 3DES-CBC
        * AES-CBC





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   Issues:

      Null option is a valid encryption mechanism although it reverts to
      use of IPsec back to message authenticity but only for upper layer
      protocols, and is commonly used.

      DES has been officially deprecated by NIST, though it is still
      mandated RFC and is still commonly implemented and used due to
      it's speed advantage over 3DES.

   See Also:

      Transform protocols, Authentication protocols


7.11 IPSec Protocols

   Definition:

      A suite of protocols which provide a framework of open standards
      that provides data confidentiality, data integrity, and data
      authenticity between participating peers at the IP layer. The
      IPsec protocol suite set of standards is documented in RFC's 2401
      through 2412 and RFC 2451.

   Discussion:

      The IPsec Protocol suite is modular and forward compatible. The
      protocols that comprise the IPsec protocol suite can be replaced
      with new versions of those protocols as the older versions become
      obsolete. For example, IKEv2 will soon replace IKEv1.

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      AH, ESP


7.11.1 Authentication Header (AH)

   Definition:

      Provides authentication and data integrity (including replay
      protection) security services [RFC2402].




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   Discussion:

      The AH protocol supports both modes of operation; tunnel mode and
      transport mode. If AH is employed in tunnel mode, portions of the
      outer IP header are given protection, as well as all of the
      tunneled IP packet (that is, all of the inner IP header is
      protected as are the higher-layer protocols). In the case of AH in
      transport mode, all upper-layer information is protected, and all
      fields in the IPv4 header excluding the fields typically are
      modified in transit.

        Original IPv4 packet :
        [IP ORIG][L4 HDR][PAYLOAD]
        In transport mode :
        [IP ORIG][AH][L4 HDR][PAYLOAD]
        In tunnel mode :
        [IP NEW][AH][IP ORIG][L4 HDR][PAYLOAD]

   Issues:

      AH is rarely used/implemented.

   See Also:

      Transform protocols, IPsec protocols, Encapsulated Security
      Payload


7.11.2 Encapsulated Security Payload (ESP)

   Definition:

      Provides three essential components needed for secure data
      exchange: authentication, integrity (including replay protection)
      and confidentiality [RFC2406].

   Discussion:

      The ESP protocol supports both modes of operation; tunnel mode and
      transport mode. If ESP is employed in tunnel mode, the protection
      is afforded only to the tunneled packet, not to the outer header
      In the case of ESP in transport mode, security services are
      provided only for the higher-layer protocols, not for the IP
      header.







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        Original IPv4 packet :
        [IP ORIG][L4 HDR][PAYLOAD]
        In transport mode :
        [IP ORIG][ESP][L4 HDR][PAYLOAD][ESP TRAILER][ESP AUTH]
        In tunnel mode :
        [IP NEW][ESP][IP ORIG][L4 HDR][PAYLOAD][ESP TRAILER][ESP AUTH]

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      Transform protocols, IPsec protocols, Authentication Header


7.12 Selectors

   Definition:

      A criteria used by a classification mechanism required to classify
      traffic flows when IPsec is used to protect traffic between
      networks which are proxied between two or more participating
      peers. After classification, a decision can be made if the traffic
      needs to be encrypted/decrypted and how this should be done.
      Selectors classify specific IP packets that require IPsec
      processing. Selectors also define those packets that must be
      discarded or passed along without modification. These are flexible
      objects that can match on source and destination addresses, range
      of IP addresses, wildcard addresses, different protocols, and
      different port numbers (like FTP) within a protocol.

   Discussion:

      The selectors are a set of fields that will be extracted from the
      network and transport layer headers that provide the ability to
      classify the traffic flow and later associate it with an SA.

   Issues:

      Both sides must agree exactly on both the networks being
      protected, and they both must agree on how to describe the
      networks (range, subnet, addresses). This is a common point of
      non-interoperability.







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7.13 NAT Traversal (NAT-T)

   Definition:

      The capability to support IPsec functionality in the presence of
      NAT devices.

   Discussion:

      NAT-Traversal requires some modifications to IKE. Specifically, in
      phase 1, it requires detecting if the other end supports
      NAT-Traversal, and detecting if there are one or more NAT
      instances along the path from host to host. In IKE Quick Mode,
      there is a need to negotiate the use of UDP encapsulated IPsec
      packets.

      NAT-T also describes how to transmit the original source and
      destination addresses to the other end if needed. The original
      source and destination addresses are used in transport mode to
      incrementally update the TCP/IP checksums so that they will match
      after the NAT transform (The NAT cannot do this, because the TCP/
      IP checksum is inside the UDP encapsulated IPsec packet).

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      IKE


7.14 IP Compression

   Definition:

      A mechanism as defined in [RFC2393] that reduces the size of the
      payload that needs to be encrypted.

   Discussion:

      IP payload compression is a protocol to reduce the size of IP
      datagrams. This protocol will increase the overall communication
      performance between a pair of communicating hosts/gateways
      ("nodes") by compressing the datagrams, provided the nodes have
      sufficient computation power, through either CPU capacity or a
      compression coprocessor, and the communication is over slow or
      congested links.



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      IP payload compression is especially useful when encryption is
      applied to IP datagrams. Encrypting the IP datagram causes the
      data to be random in nature, rendering compression at lower
      protocol layers (e.g., PPP Compression Control Protocol [RFC1962])
      ineffective. If both compression and encryption are required,
      compression must be applied before encryption.

   Issues:

      N/A


7.15 Security Context

   Definition:

      A security context is a collection of security parameters that
      describe the characteristics of the path that a tunnel will take,
      all of the tunnel parameters and the effects it has on the
      underlying protected traffic. Security Context encompasses
      protocol suite and security policy(ies).

   Discussion:

      In order to fairly compare multiple IPsec devices it is imperative
      that an accurate overview is given of all security parameters that
      were used to establish tunnels and to secure the traffic between
      protected networks. Security Context is not a metric; it is
      included to accurately reflect the test environment variables when
      reporting the methodology results. To avoid listing too much
      information when reporting metrics, we have divided the security
      context into an IKE context and an IPsec context.

      When merely discussing the behavior of traffic flows through IPsec
      devices, an IPsec context MUST be provided. In other cases the
      scope of a discussion or report may focus on a more broad set of
      behavioral characteristics of the IPsec device, the both and IPsec
      and an IKE context MUST be provided.

      The IPsec context MUST consist of the following elements:

      *  Number of IPsec tunnels

      *  IPsec tunnels per IKE tunnel (IKE/IPsec tunnel ratio)

      *  IPsec protocol

      *  IPsec mode (tunnel or transport)



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      *  Authentication protocol used by IPsec

      *  Encryption protocol used by IPsec (if applicable)

      *  IPsec SA lifetime (traffic and time based)

      The IPsec Context MAY also list:

      *  Selectors

      *  Fragmentation handling

      The IKE Context MUST consist of the following elements:

      *  Number of IKE tunnels.

      *  Authentication protocol used by IKE

      *  Encryption protocol used by IKE

      *  Key exchange mechanism (pre-shared key, certificate authority,
         etc ...)

      *  Key size (if applicable)

      *  Diffie-Hellman group

      *  IKE SA lifetime (time based)

      *  Keepalive, heartbeat or DPD values [DPD]

      *  IP Compression [RFC2393]

      *  PFS Diffie-Hellman group

      The IKE context MAY also list:

      *  Phase 1 mode (main or aggressive)

      *  Available bandwidth and latency to Certificate Authority server
         (if applicable)

   Issues:

      A Security Context will be an important element in describing the
      environment where protected traffic is traveling through.





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   See Also:

      IPsec Protocols, Transform Protocols, IKE Phase 1, IKE phase 2,
      Selectors, IPsec Tunnel


8. Performance Metrics

8.1 Tunnels Per Second (TPS)

   Definition:

      Tunnels Per Second; the measurement unit for the Tunnel Setup Rate
      tests. The rate that tunnels are established per second.

   Discussion:

      According to rfc 2401 two tunnels cannot be established between
      the same gateways with the same selectors. This is to prevent
      overlapping tunnels. If overlapping tunnels are attempted, the
      error will take longer than if the tunnel setup was successful.
      For this reason, a unique pair of selector sets are required for
      TPS testing.

   Issues:

      A unique pair of selector sets are required for TPS testing.

   See Also:

      Tunnel Setup Rate Behavior; Tunnel Setup Rate, IKE Setup Rate,
      IPsec Setup Rate


8.2 Tunnel Rekeys Per Seconds (TRPS)

   Definition:

      A metric that quantifies the number of tunnel rekey's per seconds
      a DUT can correctly process.

   Discussion:

      This metric will be will be primary used with Tunnel Rekey
      behavior tests.






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      TRPS will provide a metric used to see system behavior under
      stressful conditions where large volumes of tunnels are being
      rekeyed at the same time or in a short timespan.

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      Tunnel Rekey; Phase 1 Rekey Rate, Phase 2 Rekey Rate


8.3 Tunnel Attempts Per Second (TAPS)

   Definition:

      A metric that quantifies the number of valid or invalid tunnel
      (both Phase 1 or Phase 2) establishment requests per second.

   Discussion:

      This metric can be used to measure IKE DOS Resilience behavior
      test.

      TAPS provides an important metric to validate the stability of a
      platform, if stressed with valid (large number of IPsec tunnel
      establishments per seconds or TPS) or invalid (IKE DOS attacks of
      any style) tunnel establishment requests.

   Issues:

      If the TAPS increases, the TPS usually decreases, due to burdening
      of the DUT with the DOS attack traffic.


9. Test Definitions

9.1 Framesizes

9.1.1 Layer3 clear framesize

   Definition:

      The total size of the unencrypted L3 PDU.






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   Discussion:

      In relation to IPsec this is the size of the IP header and itÂ’s
      payload. It SHALL NOT include any encapsulations that MAY be
      applied before the PDU is processed for encryption.

      For example: 46 bytes PDU = 20 bytes IP header + 26 bytes payload.

   Measurement Units:

      Bytes

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      Layer3 Encrypted Framesize, Layer2 Clear Framesize, Layer2
      Encrypted Framesize.


9.1.2 Layer3 encrypted framesize

   Definition:

      The total size of the encrypted L3 PDU.

   Discussion:

      The size of the IP packet and itÂ’s payload after encapsulations
      MAY be applied and the PDU is being processed by the transform.

      For example, after a tunnel mode ESP 3DES/SHA1 transform has been
      applied an unencrypted or clear layer3 framesize of 46 bytes
      Becomes 96 bytes:

        20 bytes outer IP header (tunnel mode)
        4 bytes SPI (ESP header)
        4 bytes Sequence (ESP Header)
        8 bytes IV (IOS ESP-3DES)
        46 bytes payload
        0 bytes pad (ESP-3DES 64 bit)
        1 byte Pad length (ESP Trailer)
        1 byte Next Header (ESP Trailer)
        12 bytes ESP-HMAC SHA1 96 digest





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   Measurement Units:

      Bytes

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      Layer3 Clear Framesize, Layer2 Clear Framesize, Layer2 Encrypted
      Framesize.


9.1.3 Layer2 clear framesize

   Definition:

      The total size of the unencrypted L2 PDU.

   Discussion:

      This is the Layer 3 clear framesize plus all the layer2 overhead.
      In the case of Ethernet this would be 18 bytes.

      For example, a 46 byte Layer3 clear framesize packet would become
      64 Bytes after Ethernet Layer2 overhead is added:

        6 bytes destination mac address
        6 bytes source mac address
        2 bytes length/type field
        46 bytes layer3 (IP) payload
        4 bytes FCS

   Measurement Units:

      Bytes

   Issues:

      If it is not mentioned explicitly what kind of framesize is used,
      the layer2 clear framesize will be the default.

   See Also:

      Layer3 clear framesize, Layer2 encrypted framesize, Layer2
      encrypted framesize.




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9.1.4 Layer2 encrypted framesize

   Definition:

      The total size of the encrypted L2 PDU.

   Discussion:

      This is the Layer 3 encrypted framesize plus all the layer2
      overhead. In the case of Ethernet this would be 18 bytes.

      For example, a 96 byte Layer3 encrypted framesize packet would
      become 114 bytes after Ethernet Layer2 overhead is added:

        6 bytes destination mac address
        6 bytes source mac address
        2 bytes length/type field
        96 bytes layer3 (IPsec) payload
        4 bytes FCS

   Measurement Units:

      Bytes

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      Layer3 Clear Framesize, Layer3 Encrypted Framesize, Layer2 Clear
      Framesize


9.2 Internet Mix Traffic (IMIX)

   Definition:

      A traffic pattern consisting of a preset mixture of framesizes
      used to emulate real-world traffic scenarios in a testing
      environment.

   Discussion:

      IMIX traffic patterns can be used to measure different forwarding
      behaviors of the IPsec device with pseudo live traffic.





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      Several facilities have collected and reported traffic
      distribution by monitoring live Internet links. The study
      concluded that in a simulation environment, a small mix of packets
      in a preset ratio can resemble to a certain degree the live
      traffic that was monitored during the study. One of the mixes is
      called (simple) and consists of 7 parts 64 byte packets, 4  parts
      570  byte packets and 1 1518 byte packet.

   Issues:

      The ratio of frame sizes sent and traffic distribution to be
      determined by the test methodology.


9.3 Throughput

9.3.1 IPsec Tunnel Throughput

   Definition:

      The forwarding rate through an IKE/IPsec tunnel at which none of
      the offered frames are dropped by the device under test.

   Discussion:

      The IPsec Tunnel Throughput is almost identically defined as
      Throughput in [RFC1242], section 3.17. The only difference is that
      the throughput is measured with a traffic flow getting encrypted
      and decrypted by an IPsec device. The Tunnel Throughput is an
      end-to-end measurement and is intended to characterize end-user
      forwarding behavior.

      The metric can be represented in two variants depending on where
      measurement is taken in the SUT. One can look at throughput from a
      cleartext point of view i.e. find the forwarding rate where
      clearpackets no longer get dropped. This forwarding rate can be
      recalculated with an encrypted framesize to represent the
      encryption forwarding rate. The latter is the preferred method of
      representation.

   Measurement Units:

      Packets per seconds (pps), Mbps

   Issues:






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      N/A

   See Also:

      IPsec Encryption Throughput, IPsec Decryption Throughput


9.3.2 IPsec Encryption Throughput

   Definition:

      The maximum encryption rate through an IPsec tunnel at which none
      of the offered cleartext frames are dropped by the device under
      test.

   Discussion:

      Since encryption throughput is not necessarily equal to the
      decryption throughput, both of the forwarding rates must be
      measured independently. The independent forwarding rates have to
      measured with the help of an IPsec aware test device that can
      originate and terminate IPsec and IKE tunnels. As defined in
      [RFC1242], measurements should be taken with an assortment of
      frame sizes.

   Measurement Units:

      Packets per seconds (pps), Mbps

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      IPsec Tunnel Throughput, IPsec Decryption Throughput


9.3.3 IPsec Decryption Throughput

   Definition:

      The maximum decryption rate through an IPsec tunnel at which none
      of the offered encrypted frames are dropped by the device under
      test.






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   Discussion:

      Since encryption throughput is not necessarily equal to the
      decryption throughput, both of the forwarding rates must be
      measured independently.

      The independent forwarding rates have to be measured with the help
      of an IPsec aware test device that can originate and terminate
      IPsec and IKE tunnels. As defined in [RFC1242], measurements
      should be taken with an assortment of frame sizes.

   Measurement Units:

      Packets per seconds (pps), Mbps

   Issues:

      Recommended test frame sizes will be addressed in future
      methodology document.

   See Also:

      IPsec Tunnel Throughput, IPsec Encryption Throughput


9.4 Latency

9.4.1 Tunnel Latency

   Definition:

      Tunnel Latency is the delay introduced when sending traffic
      through an established IPsec tunnel between two interconnected
      IPsec devices.

   Discussion:

      The Tunnel Latency is the time interval starting when the end of
      the first bit of the cleartext frame reaches the input interface
      of the encrypting router, and ending when the start of the first
      bit of the cleartext frame is seen on the output interface of the
      decrypting router.

   Measurement Units:

      Time units with enough precision to reflect latency measurement.





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   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      IPsec Tunnel Encryption Latency, IPsec Tunnel Decryption Latency


9.4.2 IPsec Tunnel Encryption Latency

   Definition:

      The IPsec Tunnel Encryption Latency is the time interval starting
      when the end of the first bit of the cleartext frame reaches the
      input interface, through an IPsec tunnel, and ending when the
      start of the first bit of the encrypted output frame is seen on
      the output interface.

   Discussion:

      IPsec Tunnel Encryption latency is the latency introduced when
      encrypting traffic through an IPsec tunnel.

      Like encryption/decryption throughput, it is not always the case
      that encryption latency equals the decryption latency. Therefore a
      distinction between the two has to be made in order to get a more
      accurate view of where the latency is the most pronounced.

      The independent encryption/decryption latencies have to be
      measured with the help of an IPsec aware test device that can
      originate and terminate IPsec and IKE tunnels. As defined in
      [RFC1242], measurements should be taken with an assortment of
      frame sizes.

   Measurement Units:

      Time units with enough precision to reflect latency measurement.

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      IPsec Tunnel Decryption Latency





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9.4.3 IPsec Tunnel Decryption Latency

   Definition:

      The IPsec Tunnel decryption Latency is the time interval starting
      when the end of the first bit of the encrypted frame reaches the
      input interface, through an IPsec tunnel, and ending when the
      start of the first bit of the decrypted output frame is seen on
      the output interface.

   Discussion:

      IPsec Tunnel decryption latency is the latency introduced when
      decrypting traffic through an IPsec tunnel. Like encryption/
      decryption throughput, it is not always the case that encryption
      latency equals the decryption latency. Therefore a distinction
      between the two has to be made in order to get a more accurate
      view of where the latency is the most pronounced.

      The independent encryption/decryption latencies have to be
      measured with the help of an IPsec aware test device that can
      originate and terminate IPsec and IKE tunnels. As defined in
      [RFC1242], measurements should be taken with an assortment of
      frame sizes.

   Measurement Units:

      Time units with enough precision to reflect latency measurement.

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      IPsec Tunnel Encryption Latency


9.4.4 Time To First Packet

   Definition:

      The Time To First Packet (TTFP) is the time required process an
      cleartext packet when no tunnel is present.

   Discussion:





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      The TTFP addresses the issue of responsiveness of an IPsec device
      by looking how long it take to transmit a packet over a not yet
      established tunnel path. The TTFP MUST include the time to set up
      the tunnel, triggered by the traffic flow (both phase 1 and phase
      2 setup times are included) and the time it takes to encrypt and
      decrypt the packet on a corresponding peer.

      It must be noted that it is highly unlikely that the first packet
      of the traffic flow will be the packet that will be used to
      measure the TTFP. There MAY be several protocol layers in the
      stack before the tunnel is formed and the traffic is forwarded,
      hence several packets COULD be lost during negotiation, for
      example, ARP and/or IKE.

   Measurement Units:

      Time units with enough precision to reflect a TTFP measurement.

   Issues:

      N/A


9.5 Frame Loss Rate

9.5.1 Tunnel Frame Loss Rate

   Definition:

      Percentage of cleartext frames that should have been forwarded
      through an IPsec tunnel under steady state (constant) load but
      were dropped.

   Discussion:

      DUT's will always have an inherent forwarding limitation. This
      will be more pronounced when IPsec is employed on the DUT. The
      instant that a Tunnel is established and offered traffic that will
      flow through that tunnel at a constant rate, the possibility
      exists that either the offerred traffic rate at the tunnel is too
      high to be transported. This traffic may not be successful through
      the IPsec tunnel and not all cleartext packets will traverse an
      established tunnel between two interconnected IPsec devices. In
      that case, some percentage of the traffic will be dropped. This
      drop percentage is called the Tunnel Frame Loss Rate.






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   Measurement Units:

      Percent (%)

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      IPsec Tunnel Encryption Frame Loss Rate, IPsec Tunnel Decryption
      Frame Loss Rate


9.5.2 IPsec Tunnel Encryption Frame Loss Rate

   Definition:

      Percentage of cleartext frames that should have been encrypted
      through an IPsec tunnel under steady state (constant) load but
      were dropped.

   Discussion:

      DUT's will always have an inherent forwarding limitation. This
      will be more pronounced when IPsec is employed on the DUT. The
      moment that a Tunnel is established and traffic is offered at a
      given rate that will flow through that tunnel, there is a
      possibility that the offered traffic rate at the tunnel is too
      high to be transported through the IPsec tunnel and not all
      cleartext packets will get encrypted. In that case, some
      percentage of the cleartext traffic will be dropped. This drop
      percentage is called the IPsec Tunnel Encryption Frame Loss Rate.

   Measurement Units:

      Percent (%)

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      IPsec Tunnel Decryption Frame Loss Rate






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9.5.3 IPsec Tunnel Decryption Frame Loss Rate

   Definition:

      Percentage of encrypted frames that should have been decrypted
      through an IPsec tunnel under steady state (constant) load but
      were dropped.

   Discussion:

      A DUT will also have an inherent forwarding limitation when
      decrypting packets. When established tunnel encrypted traffic is
      offered at a costant load, there might be a possibility that the
      IPsec Device that needs to decrypt the traffic will not be able to
      perfom this action on all of the packets due to limitations of the
      decryption performance. The percentage of encrypted frames that
      would get dropped under these conditions is called the IPsec
      Tunnel Decryption Frame Loss Rate.

   Measurement Units:

      Percent (%)

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      IPsec Tunnel Encryption Frame Loss Rate


9.6 Back-to-back Frames

9.6.1 Tunnel Back-to-back Frames

   Definition:

      A burst of cleartext frames, offered at a constant load that can
      be sent through an IPsec tunnel without losing a single frame.

   Discussion:

      Tunnel back-to-back frames is the measure of the maximum burst
      size of cleartext frames that can be sent through an established
      tunnel between two interconnected IPsec devices.





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   Measurement Units:

      Number of N-octet frames in burst.

   Issues:

      Recommended test frame sizes will be addressed in future
      methodology document.

   See Also:

      Encryption Back-to-back frames, Decryption Back-to-back frames


9.6.2 Encryption Back-to-back Frames

   Definition:

      A burst of cleartext frames, offered at a constant load that can
      be sent through an IPsec tunnel without losing a single encrypted
      frame.

   Discussion:

      Encryption back-to-back frames is the measure of the maximum burst
      size that a device can handle for encrypting traffic that it
      receives as plaintext. Since it is not necessarily the case that
      the maximum burst size a DUT can handle for encryption is equal to
      the maximum burst size a DUT can handle for decryption, both of
      these capabilities must be measured independently. The encryption
      back-to-back frame measurement has to be measured with the help of
      an IPsec aware test device that can decrypt the traffic to
      determine the validity of the encrypted frames.

   Measurement Units:

      Number of N-octet frames in burst.

   Issues:

      Recommended test frame sizes will be addressed in future
      methodology document.

   See Also:

      Decryption Back-to-back frames





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9.6.3 Decryption Back-to-back Frames

   Definition:

      The number of encrypted frames, offered at a constant load, that
      can be sent through an IPsec tunnel without losing a single
      cleartext frame.

   Discussion:

      Decryption back-to-back frames is the measure of the maximum burst
      size that a device can handle for decrypting traffic that it
      receives as encrypted traffic. Since it is not necessarily the
      case that the maximum burst size a DUT can handle for decryption
      is equal to the maximum burst size a DUT can handle for
      encryption, both of these capabilities must be measured
      independently.  The decryption back-to-back frame measurement has
      to be measured with the help of an IPsec aware test device that
      can determine the validity of the decrypted frames.

   Measurement Units:

      Number of N-octet frames in burst.

   Issues:

      Recommended test frame sizes will be addressed in future
      methodology document.

   See Also:

      Encryption back-to-back frames


9.7 Maximum Number of Tunnels

9.7.1 Maximum Configured Tunnels (MCT)

   Definition:

      Maximum number of tunnels that can be configured on an IPsec
      device.

   Discussion:

      Every implementation will have a limitation on the number of
      tunnels that can be configured. Most implementation will allow an
      operator to configure more tunnels then actually can be



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      established.

   Measurement Units:

      Tunnels

   See Also:

      Configured Tunnel


9.7.2 Maximum Active Tunnels (MAT)

   Definition:

      Maximum number of active tunnels that can be maintained on an
      IPsec device.

   Discussion:

      Although a number of tunnels may be configured on the IPsec
      device, this will not automatically mean that all of these tunnels
      can be established and can pass traffic. Each of the tunnels that
      need to pass traffic have to be active tunnels.

   Measurement Units:

      Tunnels

   See Also:

      Active Tunnel


9.8 Tunnel Setup Rate Behavior

9.8.1 Tunnel Setup Rate

   Definition:

      The maximum number of tunnels (1 IKE SA + 2 IPsec SAs) per second
      that an IPsec device can successfully establish.

   Discussion:

      The tunnel setup rate SHOULD be measured at varying number of
      tunnels on the DUT. Several factors may influence Tunnel Setup
      Rate, such as: TAPS rate, Background Load on crypto link (clear



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      traffic), Already established tunnels, Authentication method:
      pre-shared keys, RSA-encryption, RSA-signature, DSS Key sizes used
      (when using RSA/DSS)

   Measurement Units:

      Tunnels Per Second (TPS)

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      IKE Setup Rate, IPsec Setup Rate


9.8.2 IKE Setup Rate

   Definition:

      The maximum number of IKE tunnels per second that an IPsec device
      can be observed to successfully establish.

   Discussion:

      The tunnel setup rate SHOULD be measured at varying number of
      tunnels on the DUT.

   Measurement Units:

      Tunnels Per Second (TPS)

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      Tunnel Setup Rate, IPsec Setup Rate


9.8.3 IPsec Setup Rate

   Definition:






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      The maximum number of IPsec tunnels per second that a IPsec device
      can be observed to successfully establish.

   Discussion:

      The tunnel setup rate SHOULD be measured at varying number of
      tunnels on the DUT.

   Measurement Units:

      Tunnels Per Second (TPS)

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      Tunnel Rekey


9.9 Tunnel Rekey

9.9.1 Phase 1 Rekey Rate

   Definition:

      The interval necessary for a particular Phase 1 to re-establish
      after the previous Phase 1 lifetime (hard or soft) has expired.

   Discussion:

      Although many implementations will usually derive new keying
      material before the old keys expire, there may still be a period
      of time where frames get dropped before the phase 1 and subsequent
      phase 2 tunnels are successfully (re)established. To measure the
      phase 1 rekey rate, the measurement will require an IPsec aware
      test device to act as a responder when negotiating the new phase 1
      key.

   Measurement Units:

      Time units with enough precision to reflect rekey rate
      measurement.

   Issues:





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      N/A

   See Also:

      Phase 2 Rekey Rate


9.9.2 Phase 2 Rekey Rate

   Definition:

      The interval necessary for a particular Phase 2 to re-establish
      after the previous Phase 2 lifetime (hard or soft) has expired.

   Discussion:

      The test methodology report must specify if PFS is enabled in
      reported security context.

   Measurement Units:

      Time units with enough precision to reflect rekey rate
      measurement.

   Issues:

      N/A

   See Also:

      Phase 1 Rekey Rate


9.10 Tunnel Failover Time (TFT)

   Definition:

      Time required to recover all tunnels on a stanby IPsec device,
      after a catastrophic failure occurs on the active IPsec device.

   Discussion:

      Recovery time required to re-establish all tunnels and reroute all
      traffic on a standby node or other failsafe system after a failure
      has occurred. Failure can include but are not limited to a
      catastrophic IPsec Device failure, a encryption engine failure,
      link outage. The recovery time is delta between the point of
      failure and the time the first packet is seen on the last restored



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      tunnel on the backup device.

   Measurement Units:

      Time units with enough precision to reflect Tunnel Failover Time.

   Issues:

      N/A


10. IKE DOS Resilience Rate

   Definition:

      The IKE Denial Of Service (DOS) Resilience Rate provides a rate of
      invalid or mismatching IKE tunnels setup attempts at which it is
      no longer possible to set up a valid IKE tunnel.

   Discussion:

      The IKE DOS Resilience Rate will provide a metric to how robust
      and hardened an IPsec device is against malicious attempts to set
      up a tunnel.

      IKE DOS attacks can pose themselves in various forms and do not
      necessarily have to have a malicious background. It is sufficient
      to make a typographical error in a shared secret in an IPsec
      aggregation device to be susceptible to a large number of IKE
      attempts that need to be turned down. Due to the intense
      computational nature of an IKE exchange every single IKE tunnel
      attempt that has to be denied will take a non-negligible time an a
      CPU in the IPsec device.

      Depending on how many of these messages have to be processed, a
      system might end up in a state that it is only doing key exchanges
      and burdening the CPU for any other processes that might be
      running in the IPsec device. At this point it will be no longer
      possible to process a valid IKE tunnel setup request and thus IKE
      DOS is in effect.

   Measurement Units:

      Tunnel Attempts Per Seconds (TAPS)

   Issues:





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      N/A


11. Security Considerations

   As this document is solely for the purpose of providing test
   benchmarking terminology and describes neither a protocol nor a
   protocol's implementation; there are no security considerations
   associated with this document.

12. Acknowledgements

   The authors would like to acknowledge the following individual for
   their help and participation of the compilation and editing of this
   document: Debby Stopp, Ixia.

13. Contributors

   The authors would like to acknowledge the following individual for
   their significant help, guidance, and contributions to this document:
   Paul Hoffman, VPNC, Sunil Kalidindi, Ixia, Brian Talbert, MCI.

Normative References

   [RFC1242]  Bradner, S., "Benchmarking terminology for network
              interconnection devices", RFC 1242, July 1991.

   [RFC2119]  Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate
              Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.

   [RFC2285]  Mandeville, R., "Benchmarking Terminology for LAN
              Switching Devices", RFC 2285, February 1998.

   [RFC2393]  Shacham, A., Monsour, R., Pereira, R. and M. Thomas, "IP
              Payload Compression Protocol (IPComp)", RFC 2393, December
              1998.

   [RFC2401]  Kent, S. and R. Atkinson, "Security Architecture for the
              Internet Protocol", RFC 2401, November 1998.

   [RFC2402]  Kent, S. and R. Atkinson, "IP Authentication Header", RFC
              2402, November 1998.

   [RFC2403]  Madson, C. and R. Glenn, "The Use of HMAC-MD5-96 within
              ESP and AH", RFC 2403, November 1998.

   [RFC2404]  Madson, C. and R. Glenn, "The Use of HMAC-SHA-1-96 within
              ESP and AH", RFC 2404, November 1998.



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   [RFC2405]  Madson, C. and N. Doraswamy, "The ESP DES-CBC Cipher
              Algorithm With Explicit IV", RFC 2405, November 1998.

   [RFC2406]  Kent, S. and R. Atkinson, "IP Encapsulating Security
              Payload (ESP)", RFC 2406, November 1998.

   [RFC2407]  Piper, D., "The Internet IP Security Domain of
              Interpretation for ISAKMP", RFC 2407, November 1998.

   [RFC2408]  Maughan, D., Schneider, M. and M. Schertler, "Internet
              Security Association and Key Management Protocol
              (ISAKMP)", RFC 2408, November 1998.

   [RFC2409]  Harkins, D. and D. Carrel, "The Internet Key Exchange
              (IKE)", RFC 2409, November 1998.

   [RFC2410]  Glenn, R. and S. Kent, "The NULL Encryption Algorithm and
              Its Use With IPsec", RFC 2410, November 1998.

   [RFC2411]  Thayer, R., Doraswamy, N. and R. Glenn, "IP Security
              Document Roadmap", RFC 2411, November 1998.

   [RFC2412]  Orman, H., "The OAKLEY Key Determination Protocol", RFC
              2412, November 1998.

   [RFC2451]  Pereira, R. and R. Adams, "The ESP CBC-Mode Cipher
              Algorithms", RFC 2451, November 1998.

   [RFC2544]  Bradner, S. and J. McQuaid, "Benchmarking Methodology for
              Network Interconnect Devices", RFC 2544, March 1999.

   [RFC2547]  Rosen, E. and Y. Rekhter, "BGP/MPLS VPNs", RFC 2547, March
              1999.

   [I-D.ietf-ipsec-ikev2]
              Kaufman, C., "Internet Key Exchange (IKEv2) Protocol",
              draft-ietf-ipsec-ikev2-11 (work in progress), October
              2003.

   [I-D.ietf-ipsec-nat-t-ike]
              Kivinen, T., "Negotiation of NAT-Traversal in the IKE",
              draft-ietf-ipsec-nat-t-ike-07 (work in progress),
              September 2003.

   [I-D.ietf-ipsec-udp-encaps]
              Huttunen, A., "UDP Encapsulation of IPsec Packets",
              draft-ietf-ipsec-udp-encaps-06 (work in progress), January
              2003.



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   [I-D.ietf-ipsec-nat-reqts]
              Aboba, B. and W. Dixon, "IPsec-NAT Compatibility
              Requirements", draft-ietf-ipsec-nat-reqts-06 (work in
              progress), October 2003.

   [I-D.ietf-ipsec-properties]
              Krywaniuk, A., "Security Properties of the IPsec Protocol
              Suite", draft-ietf-ipsec-properties-02 (work in progress),
              July 2002.

   [FIPS.186-1.1998]
              National Institute of Standards and Technology, "Digital
              Signature Standard", FIPS PUB 186-1, December 1998,
              <http://csrc.nist.gov/fips/fips1861.pdf>.

Informative References

   [Designing Network Security]
              Kaeo, M., "Designing Network Security",  ISBN: 1578700434,
              Published: May 07, 1999; Copyright: 1999, 1999.

   [SKEME]    Krawczyk, H., "SKEME: A Versatile Secure Key Exchange
              Mechanism for Internet",  from IEEE Proceedings of the
              1996 Symposium on Network and Distributed Systems
              Security, URI http://www.research.ibm.com/security/
              skeme.ps, 1996.

   [DPD]      "DPD draft-ietf-ipsec-dpd-02", , URI http://www.ietf.org/
              internet-drafts/draft-ietf-ipsec-dpd-02.txt.


Authors' Addresses

   Michele Bustos
   IXIA
   26601 W. Agoura Rd.
   Calabasas, CA  91302
   US

   Phone: +1 (818)444-3244
   EMail: mbustos@ixiacom.com










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   Tim Van Herck
   Cisco Systems, Inc.
   170 West Tasman Drive
   San Jose, CA  95134-1706
   US

   Phone: +1 (408)527-2461
   EMail: herckt@cisco.com


   Merike Kaeo
   Merike, Inc.
   123 Ross Street
   Santa Cruz, CA  95060
   US

   Phone: +1 (831)818-4864
   EMail: kaeo@merike.com

































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   HEREIN WILL NOT INFRINGE ANY RIGHTS OR ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
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