Los Gatos, Calif. - The 6565, Hifn's latest public-key processor for Secure Socket Layer (SSL) midrange to high-end e-commerce servers, enables 2,000 SSL sessions/second for under $50.

Product marketing manager Danny Chi said the peak load of SSL transactions for a major credit card company was approximately 2,500/s, and multiple 6565 chips can be combined for higher performance.

A single 6565 performs up to 2,000 1,024-bit RSA transactions per second, with support for 2,048-bit RSA keys. For virtual private network applications, a maximum of 1,020 IKE main-mode tunnels can be created per second. They consist of two 180-bit Diffie-Hellman exchanges, one RSA sign and two RSA verifies, using a 1,024-bit modulus.

The security chip can be configured to use either a 32-bit PCI 2.1 interface or a direct-access interface. The PCI interface provides the option of creating a 6565-based PCI card for host systems with available PCI slots. The 250-MHz 6565 is manufactured on a 0.18-micron CMOS process and has a 1.5-volt core voltage. It is available in a 160-pin HQFP or a 256-pin ball-grid array, priced at $49.50 in 10,000-piece quantities.

Prototype samples are available now, with production deliveries scheduled for the first half of 2002. A reference design is also available. It consists of a hardware evaluation board with Hifn's public-key processor, an application programming interface for the most widely used public-key cryptography algorithms and documentation that includes detailed hardware and software specifications.

Call (408) 399-3500
www.hifn.com
EETInfo No. 612