Soekris VPN1411: Crypto accelerator miniPCI Card
The Soekris VPN1411 hardware security accelerator delivers excellent performance at a competetive price, off-loading the CPU from the computing intensive tasks of encryption and compression.
The VPN1411 is perfect for low cost and low power VPN Routers like the ALIX-based m1n1wall pfSense systems, and can deliver enhanced IPsec throughput.
IPsec maximum throughput on ALIX boards without and with vpn1411*:
3DES: 13.7 Mbps vs 34.6 Mbps
AES: 19.4 Mbps vs 34.2 Mbps
AES256: 13.5 Mbps vs 34.2 Mbps
Specifications:
- Hi/fn 7955 security accelerator chip
- System throughput at up to 40 Mbps
- Encryption, 128 AES at upto 19 Mbps, 3-DES at upto 40 Mbps
- Hardware random number generator
- 33/66 Mhz Mini-PCI type III form factor
- Power max 1.8 Watt
- Operating temperature 0-60 °C
Additional Information:
- Software: OpenBSD, FreeBSD fully supported in the latest release. This means it also works with pfSense and m0n0wall. Linux support is under development.
- RoHS-5 Compliance: yes
Open VPN performance notes which may be useful
Since OpenVPN runs in user-space, it is bcopy() bound. (Each packet makes several trips across the User-space/Kernel-space boundary.)
You probably won't see the performance gains you'd hoped for. As a suggestion, try ipsec instead of openvpn.
You might start here for specific hints about using the crypto accelerator with pfSense:
Supported Cryptographic Accelerators in pfSense
Also, you should disable glxsb under System > Advanced, on the misc tab. Unless you disable glxsb, the Hifn on the VPN1411 won't be used. (glxsb is driver for the crypto engine onboard the Geode CPU in the Alix.)
Warranty and Support Information: