Intel Corporation
EFFICIENT ENCRYPTION IN VPN SESSIONS

Abstract:

Methods, apparatus, and software for efficient encryption in virtual private network (VPN) sessions. A VPN link and an auxiliary link (and associated sessions) are established between computing platforms to support end-to-end communication between respective application running on the platforms. The VPN link may employ a conventional VPN protocol such as TLS or IPsec, while the auxiliary link comprises a NULL encryption VPN tunnel. To transfer data, a determination is made to whether the data are encrypted or non-encrypted. Encrypted data are transferred over the auxiliary link to avoid re-encryption of the data. Non-encrypted are transferred over the VPN link. TLS and IPsec VPN agents may be used to assist in setting up the VPN and auxiliary sessions. The techniques avoid double encryption of VPN traffic, while ensuring that various types of traffic transferred between platforms is encrypted.