Boost Your Network Security with Check Point SecureXL!

Boost Your Network Security with Check Point SecureXL!

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction to Secure Excel
2. Understanding Secure Excel 2.1. Packet Acceleration 2.2. Session Acceleration
3. Secure Excel Packet Flow
4. Secure Excel API
5. Secure Excel VPN Capabilities
6. Benefits of Secure Excel
7. Factors Affecting Packet Acceleration
8. Factors Affecting Session Acceleration
9. Secure Excel Communication Modes
10. Conclusion

Introduction to Secure Excel

In today's article, we will be discussing the concept of Secure Excel. Secure Excel is a technology developed by Check Point that aims to accelerate multiple intensive security operations, including those performed by the Check Point stateful inspection firewall feature. By utilizing Secure Excel, the firewall offloads these operations to a performance-optimized software or hardware device, resulting in a significant increase in throughput. In this article, we will explore the different aspects of Secure Excel, including packet acceleration, session acceleration, packet flow, API integration, VPN capabilities, and more.

Understanding Secure Excel

Packet Acceleration

Packet acceleration is a crucial aspect of Secure Excel. When a packet attempts to establish a new TCP or UDP connection, it undergoes various packet processing paths within the firewall. This includes the slow path, accelerated path, medium path, and firewall path. In the slow path, the firewall processes the packet as a new packet and applies all necessary validations. On the other HAND, the accelerated path, medium path, and firewall path handle packets that have already been validated and belong to existing connections. By offloading the validation of related packets and connections to the Secure Excel API, packet acceleration reduces the computing overhead required by the firewall or VPN application itself.

Session Acceleration

In addition to packet acceleration, Secure Excel also includes session acceleration capabilities. Session acceleration aims to reduce the overhead in establishing certain types of new connections, particularly in high connection environments. The principle behind session acceleration is an extension of Secure Excel's validation approach to one-time validation of firewall flows. This means that any new connection setup that matches a particular five-tuple (source IP, source address decision, destination address, source port, and protocol) is handled in the slow path, without the need for round trips to the firewall application. This significantly improves processing throughput and helps avoid unnecessary overhead.

Secure Excel Packet Flow

The packet flow within Secure Excel plays a crucial role in optimizing firewall and VPN performance. By remembering certain attributes of packets and packet flows that have already been validated by the firewall or VPN applications, Secure Excel can delegate the validation of related packets and connections to the Secure Excel API. This offloading of validation to a hardware interrupt level on x86 or the latest processor hardware results in substantially less computing overhead compared to performing the validations within the firewall or VPN application itself. The packet flow within Secure Excel ensures efficient processing and accelerated throughput.

Secure Excel API

The Secure Excel API acts as a middleman between the firewall application and the operating system software. It facilitates the validation of packets and connections that have already been validated by the firewall. The API interacts with the hardware interrupt level on x86 or the latest processor hardware to ensure efficient processing and accelerated throughput. In Part 2 of this article, we will dive deeper into the Secure Excel API and its role within the Secure Excel architecture.

Secure Excel VPN Capabilities

Secure Excel also incorporates VPN traffic throughput and enhances firewall and VPN performance by nearly an order of magnitude. This enhancement is particularly notable for small packet traffic within long-duration connections. By accelerating firewall traffic throughput and incorporating VPN traffic throughput, Secure Excel offers significant performance improvements, ensuring secure and efficient communication over VPN connections.

Benefits of Secure Excel

• Drastically increased firewall and VPN performance
• Reduction in computing overhead for security operations
• Enhanced throughput for non-encrypted firewall traffic
• Improved efficiency for VPN traffic throughput
• Faster connection setup and tear down rates
• Session rate acceleration for high connection environments

Factors Affecting Packet Acceleration

While Secure Excel enables packet acceleration in various scenarios, there are certain factors that can preclude a packet from being accelerated. These factors include sticky decision functions, QoS considerations, multicast packets, IPID, TTL, DNS protocol enforcement, and more. Understanding these factors can help optimize the use of Secure Excel and ensure efficient packet acceleration.

Factors Affecting Session Acceleration

Similarly, session acceleration in Secure Excel can be affected by factors such as time objects, dynamic objects, domain objects, and more. These factors impact the rate at which new connections are established and the overall throughput in high connection environments. By considering these factors, organizations can make informed decisions regarding the implementation of Secure Excel and maximize the benefits of session acceleration.

Secure Excel Communication Modes

Secure Excel offers different communication modes to suit various network environments and requirements. These modes include firewall communication mode, VPN communication mode, or a combination of both. Understanding the different communication modes offered by Secure Excel helps organizations leverage the technology effectively and tailor it to their specific security needs.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Secure Excel is a Check Point technology that accelerates firewall and VPN performance by offloading intensive security operations to performance-optimized software or hardware devices. Through packet acceleration, session acceleration, and efficient packet flow and API integration, Secure Excel offers significant performance improvements and reduced computing overhead. By understanding the factors affecting packet and session acceleration, organizations can optimize the use of Secure Excel and enhance their network security capabilities.