Abstract: A method and system for network security includes a first network device having a first set of key material with a base key and a key extension, and a second network device also having the first set of key material and a second set of key material with a second base key. The second network device is capable of communicating with the first network device using security determined by the first set of key material. The method and system for network security may further include a third network device having the second set of key material. The third network device is capable of communicating with the second network device using security determined by the second set of key material. For the present method and system, security determined by the first set of key material is stronger than security determined by the second set of key material.

Abstract: A packet-forwarding device for providing policy-based services has at least a first interface, a second interface, and a packet forwarder for forwarding external packets between the first and second interfaces. The packet-forwarding device also runs internal applications that may be remotely accessed. The first and second interfaces transmit and receive internal and external packets, the internal packets being those packets generated or received by the internal applications during remote access, and the external packets being those packets destined for devices other than the packet-forwarding device. The packet forwarder forwards external packets between the first and second interfaces. An internal interface forwards internal packets between the internal applications and the first and second interfaces, and a policy engine logically connected to the internal interface applies a policy to the internal packets.

Abstract: A network content service apparatus includes a set of compute elements adapted to perform a set of network services; and a switching fabric coupling compute elements in said set of compute elements. The set of network services includes firewall protection, Network Address Translation, Internet Protocol forwarding, bandwidth management, Secure Sockets Layer operations, Web caching, Web switching, and virtual private networking. Code operable on the compute elements enables the network services, and the compute elements are provided on blades which further include at least one input/output port.

Abstract: An architecture for controlling a multiprocessing system to provide at least one network service to subscriber data packets transmitted in the system using a plurality of compute elements, comprising a management compute element including service set-up information for at least one service and at least one processing compute element applying said at least one network service to said data packets and communicating service set-up information with the management compute element in order to perform service specific operations on data packets. In a further embodiment, a method of controlling a processing system including a plurality of processors is disclosed.

Abstract: A method for secure communications between a client and a server. The method includes the steps of managing a communications negotiation between the client and the server; receiving encrypted data packets from the client; decrypting each encrypted packet data; forwarding unencrypted data packets to the server; receiving data packets from the server; encrypting the data packets from the server; and forwarding encrypted data packets to the client. In a further embodiment, an apparatus communicating with a client via a public network and communicating with one of a plurality of servers via a secure network is disclosed. The apparatus includes a network communications interface, at least one processor, programmable dynamic memory, and a communications channel coupling the processor, memory and network communications interface.

Abstract: A load balancing SSL acceleration device. The device includes a processor, memory and communications interface. A TCP communications manager capable of interacting with a plurality of client devices and server devices simultaneously is provided, along with a secure communications manager. The apparatus further includes an encryption and decryption engine instructing the processor to encrypt data from a secure communications session and direct it to said second communication session. Still further, the apparatus includes a load balancing engine associating ones of said client devices with ones of said servers for a communications session based on calculated processing loads of each said server. In a further aspect, a method for performing SSL acceleration of data communications between a plurality of customer devices attempting to communicate with an enterprise having a plurality of servers is disclosed.

Abstract: A method for secure communications between a client and one of a plurality of servers performed on an intermediary device coupled to the client and said plurality of servers. In one aspect, the method comprises: establishing an open communications session between the intermediary device and the client via an open network; negotiating a secure communications session with the client; establishing an open communications session with said one of said plurality of servers via a secure network; receiving encrypted data from the client via the secure communications session; decrypting encrypted application data; forwarding decrypted application data to the server via the secure network; receiving application data from the server via the secure network; encrypting the application data; and sending encrypted application data to the client.

Abstract: A method for enabling secure communication between a client on an open network and a server apparatus on a secure network. The method is generally performed on a intermediary apparatus coupled to the secure network and the open network. The method includes the steps of negotiating a secure communications session with the client apparatus via the open network; negotiating an open communications session with the server via the secure network; receiving encrypted packet application data having a length greater than a packet length via multiple data packets; decrypting the encrypted packet application data in each data packet; forwarding decrypted, unauthenticated application data to the server via the secure network; and authenticating the decrypted packet data on receipt of a final packet of the segment.