 - A server accelerator card (also known as an SSL card) is a
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) card used to generate encryption keys
for secure transactions on e-commerce Web sites. When a secure transaction is
initiated, the Web site's server sends its certificate, which has been provided by a
certifying authority, to the client machine to verify the Web site's authenticity. After this exchange, a secret key is used to encrypt all data transferred between sender and receiver so that all personal and credit card information is protected. This process can severely overload a server resulting in fewer transactions processed per second, which means fewer sales. The server accelerator card takes over this process, thus reducing the load on the server. Server accelerator cards support a number of security protocols including Secure Sockets Layer
(SSL) and Secure Electronic Transaction (set).
The server accelerator card is installed into the PCI slot
of the server. A software driver is loaded, and the server is ready to receive orders. This is much easier and more cost-effective than buying additional servers. Additional cards can be installed as the server's secure transactions increase.
There are also SSL acceleration appliances. These are
external units that have server accelerator cards installed inside them. The
unit is then plugged into the server. When a secure transaction is detected, the
transaction is routed to the SSL acceleration unit for processing. SSL
accelerator appliances can be added as needed by clustering them together.
| CONTRIBUTORS: |
John Boyer |
| LAST UPDATED: |
15 Jan 2002
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