Cisco PIX-VAC-PLUS PIX DES/3DES/AES VPN Accelerator Card Plus 74-3176-01 VAC+

The Cisco PIX VPN Accelerator Card+ (VAC+) delivers high-performance, hardware-accelerated IP Security (IPSec) VPN, support for state-of-the-art international cryptographic standards, and highly scalable VPN tunnel aggregation in a solution that comes integrated with, or as an upgrade for, most models of the market-leading Cisco PIX Security Appliance Series. Ranging from solutions for small to midsize businesses (SMBs) to large enterprises and service providers, the Cisco PIX Security Appliance Series offers extensible platforms that provide robust, enterprise-class integrated network security services and solid investment protection. The Cisco PIX VAC+ takes full advantage of this extensibility and maximizes platform investment protection by offloading computationally intensive VPN cryptographic functions. This enables Cisco PIX Security Appliances to deliver higher-performance stateful inspection firewall services, advanced application and protocol inspection, inline intrusion protection, and robust multimedia and voice security services.

The Cisco PIX VAC+ provides high-performance hardware acceleration for a broad range of cryptographic standards, including 56-bit Data Encryption Standard (DES), 168-bit Triple DES (3DES), and all three key sizes (128-, 192-, and 256-bit) of Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), the state-of-the-art international cryptographic standard. In October 2000, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and cryptographers from around the world selected AES as the new cryptographic standard for protecting digital information. AES, which is rapidly being adopted worldwide, provides a better combination of performance and enhanced network security than DES or 3DES by being computationally more efficient than these earlier standards. Furthermore, by supporting large key sizes of 128, 192, and 256 bits, AES offers higher security against brute-force attacks. Combining the numerous benefits of AES with support for other leading cryptographic standards, the Cisco PIX VAC+ provides businesses with an ideal VPN acceleration solution that bridges the gap between older and next-generation security standards.

The Cisco PIX VAC+, in conjunction with the innovative Cisco Easy VPN technology found within Cisco PIX Security Appliances, delivers a uniquely scalable, cost-effective, and easy-to-manage remote-access VPN solution. Built upon the foundation of dynamic policy distribution and effortless provisioning, Cisco Easy VPN eliminates the operational costs associated with maintaining remote device configurations typically required by traditional VPN solutions. It enables businesses to enjoy the numerous benefits that VPNs provide, including increased employee productivity by taking advantage of high-speed broadband connectivity, and significantly reduced operational costs by eliminating expenses associated with legacy dialup architectures?without the problems commonly found with other remote-access VPN solutions. By supporting up to 2000 encrypted tunnels for mixed VPN environments, the Cisco PIX VAC+ enables businesses to securely and cost-effectively extend their networks to teleworkers, remote offices, and business partners for anytime, anywhere access to vital corporate resources.