Overview

This chapter describes the features and functions of the Secure Content Accelerator. This chapter contains the following sections:

Product Overview

The Secure Content Accelerator is a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) offloading solution, allowing servers to provide both secure and non-secure services at the same high speeds. You can secure a server for testing purposes immediately using a pre-loaded default key and certificate rather than wait up to a week for your key and certificate to arrive. Simply load your own certificate and key when they are available.

The Cisco 11000 Series Secure Content Accelerator is compatible with all Cisco content switches—the Cisco LocalDirector, the Catalyst Content Switching Module, and the Cisco CSS 11000 Series Content Services Switches.

The Secure Content Accelerator provides:

Secure URL rewrite, preventing URL redirects and references from breaking or circumventing SSL sessions.

FIPS-compliant operation

Firmware signatures are verified during startup and when a firmware image is uploaded to or loaded on the device.

Compliance with the IEEE 802.3u standard

Management via command line and Web-based graphical user interfaces

Encrypted management session option

User-selectable management UDP/TCP service port option

RIP client version 1 and 2 support

Multiple SNTP server support

SNMP MIB-II support (read-only)

Transparent/non-transparent SSL proxy toggling

Non-SSL traffic blocking when operating in default in-line (dual-port) mode

Arbitrary certificate size

Netscape International Step-Up Certificate and Microsoft Server Gated Cryptography support

Private key security

Client and server certificate authentication

On-device key and certificate generation

HTTPS, IMAPS, POP3S, NNTPS, and LDAPS as well as TLS version 1.0, and SSL version 2.0 and 3.0 support

Secure Content Accelerator Versions

This document applies to all Secure Content Accelerator hardware models, the SCA and SCA2. Any differences in displayed information are described where applicable. The table below presents the differences between the two Secure Content Accelerator models.

Table 1-1: Secure Content Accelerator Model Differences

Feature	SCA	SCA2
Maximum Connections	5000	30,000
Maximum Session Cache	75,000	300,000
Maximum SSL Servers	255	4095
Maximum Keys	255	4095
Maximum Certificates	255	4095
CPU	250 MHz Motorola 8240	600 MHz IBM 750CXE
RAM	64MB	256MB
Flash	16MB	32MB
Cryptographic Engine	Rainbow FastMap 200	Broadcom 5821
Maximum 1024-bit RSA Operations/ Second	200	4000
Hardware Digest	No	Yes
Hardware Cipher	No	Yes
Hardware RNG	No	Yes

Released Platforms

The remote configuration manager supports Linux Red Hat versions 5.2, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, and 7.0; Windows NT 4.0; Windows 2000; and Solaris 2.6, 7, and 8 operating systems. The CD-ROM subdirectory entitled Docs contains Adobe Acrobat .pdf versions of the product documentation and release notes.

Table of Contents

Overview

Product Overview

Secure Content Accelerator Versions

Released Platforms