Administrator Guide

Internet Protocol Security (IPSec)

Internet protocol security (IPSec) is available on Dell Networking OS.

IPSec is an end-to-end security scheme for protecting IP communications by authenticating and

encrypting all packets in a communication session. Use IPSec between hosts, between gateways, or

between hosts and gateways.

IPSec is compatible with Telnet and FTP protocols. It supports two operational modes: Transport and

Tunnel.

• Transport mode — (default) Use to encrypt only the payload of the packet. Routing information is

unchanged.

• Tunnel mode — Use to encrypt the entire packet including the routing information of the IP header.

Typically used when creating virtual private networks (VPNs).

NOTE: Due to performance limitations on the control processor, You cannot enable IPSec on all

packets in a communication session.

IPSec uses the following protocols:

• Authentication Headers (AH) — Disconnected integrity and origin authentication for IP packets

• Encapsulating Security (ESP) — Confidentiality, authentication, and data integrity for IP packets

• Security Associations (SA) — Necessary algorithmic parameters for AH and ESP functionality

IPSec supports the following authentication and encryption algorithms:

• Authentication only:

– MD5

– SHA1

• Encryption only:

– 3DES

– CBC

– DES

• ESP Authentication and Encryption:

– MD5 & 3DES

– MD5 & CBC

– MD5 & DES

– SHA1 & 3DES

– SHA1 & CBC

– SHA1 & DES

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Internet Protocol Security (IPSec)