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The Many Modes of IPSec With IKE
IKE is a key management protocol designed for the secure exchange of encryption keys used by other encryption and authentication schemes. The IPSec draft requires the support of DES and 3DES for data encryption, and MD5 and SHA-1 for authentication. IKE is the framework that negotiates security association (SA) and keys.
Within IKE, two modes are used. Main Mode provides identity protection for the hosts initiating the IPSec session, but takes slightly longer to complete. Aggressive Mode provides no identity protection, but is quicker. All IPSec devices must support Main Mode; Aggressive Mode is optional. Note that the IPSec SA is negotiated independently of the IKE SA.
Main Mode An IKE session begins with the initiator sending a proposal or proposals to the responder. The proposals define what encryption and authentication protocols are acceptable, how long keys should remain active, and whether perfect forward secrecy should be enforced, for example. Multiple proposals can be sent in one offering. The first exchange between nodes establishes the basic security policy; the initiator proposes the encryption and authentication algorithms it is willing to use. The responder chooses the appropriate proposal (we'll assume a proposal is chosen) and sends it to the initiator. The next exchange passes Diffie-Hellman public keys and other data. All further negotiation is encrypted within the IKE SA. The third exchange authenticates the ISAKMP session. Once the IKE SA is established, IPSec negotiation (Quick Mode) begins.
Aggressive Mode Aggressive Mode squeezes the IKE SA negotiation into three packets, with all data required for the SA passed by the initiator. The responder sends the proposal, key material and ID, and authenticates the session in the next packet. The initiator replies by authenticating the session. Negotiation is quicker, and the initiator and responder ID pass in the clear.
Quick Mode IPSec negotiation, or Quick Mode, is similar to an Aggressive Mode IKE negotiation, except negotiation must be protected within an IKE SA. Quick Mode negotiates the SA for the data encryption and manages the key exchange for that IPSec SA.
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