Performance enhancing proxies and security
Ian Thomson · 2003
The long delays associated with Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellite communications can degrade the performance of acknowledgement based protocols such as TCP. The use of performance enhancing proxies (PEPs) can improve the performance for certain traffic types. However, problems may be encountered with this approach if secure end-to-end communications are required. Indeed, there can sometimes be a stark choice to be made between performance and security. This paper reviews some of the architectural choices for PEPs and security over satellite links. The interaction between IPsec and PEPs is considered as a particular example. IPsec is becoming a widely deployed security solution but its use has a major effect on the effectiveness and position of transport layer PEPs. Solutions to the problems caused by the use of IPsec are discussed and conclusions are drawn from an exploration of deployment options and a discussion of their applicability. (6 pages)