IPsec Virtual Private Network Fundamentals

Chapter 11. Public Key Infrastructure and IPsec VPNs

A Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) entails a system of cryptographic endpoints that use an infrastructure of trusted resources, such as Certificate Authorities (CAs) and Registration Authorities (RAs), to facilitate a cryptographic transaction in a trusted manner. In large enterprise-class IPSec VPN designs, the burden of key management can be overwhelming. When the number of cryptographic endpoints scales upwards, so does the need to for a centralized, scalable method of key management between the cryptographic endpoints, or in this case, between the IPSec VPN gateways. A PKI can be used in varying types of cryptographic solutions. However, in the context of IPSec VPN deployments, the PKI ...