The Role of Specialized Hardware in Network Security Gateways

Overview

This paper explores the potentials and pitfalls of using network security appliances running specialized Integrated Circuits (ICs). It offers a vision that includes a role for such ICs in offloading and accelerating specific and static network and security-related functions, but always within a larger context of a robust open-server architecture that allows critical security features to be quickly added and modified in software without sacrificing performance. Only this kind of architecture can adapt to the fast-changing nature of network security while fulfilling the ever-increasing performance requirements of customers. This paper also discusses the value of network security hardware that is based on open standards and APIs and of software-based solutions that can run on such platforms.