Integrated site-to-site AES 256 encryption over HN/HX networks
The optional Hughes IPSec Encryption (Hughes IPSec) feature is the perfect solution for customers looking for true site-to-site encryption. Hughes IPSec is integrated with Hughes’ TCP acceleration technology to overcome the inherent performance penalty that IPSec VPNs typically cause standard satellite solutions. Hughes IPSec uses a 256-bit AES encryption to offer true bidirectional site-to-site encryption over HN/HX Systems.
HN IPSec incorporates the following features:
- True site-to-site encryption—from customer data center to remote site
- 256-bit bidirectional AES encryption
- Hughes’ industry-leading acceleration technology, advanced routing, and prioritization features on the encrypted traffic
- Server redundancy
- Split-tunnel mode
- Data center diversity
The Hughes IPSec feature provides a standards-based IPSec/IKE implementation for encrypting user data traffic and managing encryption keys in HN/HX networks. IKE (Internet Key Exchange) protocol is used to automatically generate and maintain session keys and to set up an IPSec tunnel between the HN/HX remote terminal and the VPN IP gateway in the customer’s data center. This ensures that the data is encrypted end-to-end between the customer’s remote site and the data center.
The Hughes IPSec provides true site-to-site encryption with no unencrypted portions en route, while still being able to use Hughes’ patented Performance Enhancing Proxy (PEP) for TCP acceleration, as well as all other routing, prioritization, and access control functions provided within HN/HX Systems. Hughes IPSec’s strong software integration within the HN/HX Systems minimizes the throughput degradation associated with the IPSec implementation. The following diagram shows a typical HN/HX network with Hughes IPSec enabled. The Hughes IPSec implementation requires the installation of a redundant pair of VPN IP gateways at the customer’s data center. The VPN IP gateway implements the IPSec tunnels and also performs the TCP acceleration functions while the Hughes hub IP gateway performs the routing and prioritization of the IPSec packets.
The HN IPSec implementation requires the installation of a redundant pair of VPN IP gateways at the customer’s data center. The VPN IP gateway implements the IPSec tunnels and also performs the TCP acceleration functions while the Hughes hub IP gateway performs the routing and prioritization of the IPSec packets.
