Interpeak is readying a TCP/IP stack with a built-in IPsec implementation that exploits the hardware cyptographic engines in forthcoming ColdFire and PowerQUICC chips. The stack will support Linux and other embedded OSes, and deliver low-cost, cycle-sparing IPsec performance on Freescale's new industrial chips, the company says.

IPsec, or Internet Protocol Security, is an IETF standard for secure IP communication over the Internet. It is an obligatory component of IPv6, and is implemented in the 2.6-series Linux kernel.

Interpeak says it built IPsec into its TCP/IP stack in order to facilitate adding the capability transparently to both new and existing embedded applications. The stack adds security at the IP level, protecting all IP based protocols and applications, and developers can tune the level of security as needed, the company says.

Interpeak's TCP/IP stack will support recently announced Freescale chips with “security engine controllers.” These include PowerQUICC chips, as well as the MCF548x/7x family, which is also the first ColdFire chip to feature an MMU (memory management unit).

Interpeak's VP of Engineering, Lennert Bang, said, “Our initial studies indicate that the combination of IPsec and the hardware-accelerated encryption available in the Freescale processors results in an encryption process that is 34 times faster than a software only process.”

Freescale's tools program manager, Bill Krakar, said, “An industrial application using Interpeak's IPsec stack offloads the encryption processing from the ColdFire core without requiring a stand-alone hardware encryption component.”

Interpeak announced two weeks ago that its dual-mode IPv4/IPv6 TCP/IP stack for Linux passed the Phase 1 requirements in the IPv6 Forum's IPv6 Logo Program.

 
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