Encryption Algorithms in IPsec

Encryption algorithms encrypt data with a key. The ESP module in IPsec uses encryption algorithms. The algorithms operate on data in units of a block size.

Different releases of the Solaris 10 OS provide different default encryption algorithms.

In the Solaris Express Community Edition, do not add the Solaris Encryption Kit to your system. The kit is incompatible with the encryption on your system.

• Starting in the Solaris 10 7/07 release, the contents of the Solaris Encryption Kit are installed by the Solaris installation media. This release adds the SHA2 authentication algorithms: sha256, sha384, and sha512. The SHA2 implementations conform to the RFC 4868 specification. This release also adds larger Diffie-Hellman groups: 2048-bit (group 14), 3072-bit (group 15), and 4096-bit (group 16). Note that Sun systems with CoolThreads technology accelerate the 2048-bit groups only.

• Before the Solaris 10 7/07 release, the Solaris installation media provides basic algorithms and you can add stronger algorithms from the Solaris Encryption Kit.

  By default, the DES-CBC, 3DES-CBC, AES-CBC, and Blowfish-CBC algorithms are installed. The key sizes that are supported by the AES-CBC and Blowfish-CBC algorithms are limited to 128 bits.

  AES-CBC and Blowfish-CBC algorithms that support key sizes that are greater than 128 bits are available to IPsec when you install the Solaris Encryption Kit. However, not all encryption algorithms are available outside of the United States. The kit is available on a separate CD that is not part of the Solaris 10 installation box. The Solaris 10 Encryption Kit Installation Guide describes how to install the kit. For more information, see the Sun Downloads web site. To download the kit, click the Downloads A-Z tab, then click the letter S. The Solaris 10 Encryption Kit is among the first 20 entries.