3Com 3CR990-FX-97 manual Introduction, Onboard 3XP Processor, Data Encryption

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Introduction

This chapter describes the following 3Com® 100 Mbps PCI network interface card (NIC) model from the 3CR990-FX-97 NIC family.

Product Name/Description	Model Number
3Com 100 Secure Fiber-FX	3CR990-FX-97
Network Interface Card
Client NIC for 3DES (168-bit) and
DES (56-bit) encryption

The 3Com 100 Secure Fiber-FX (3CR990-FX-97) NIC connects your PCI-compliant computer to a 100 Mbps Ethernet network. It provides advanced features for high performance and secure transactions. High performance is achieved through an onboard RISC processor; secure transactions are achieved through data encryption.

Onboard 3XP Processor

The 3CR990-FX-97 NIC represents a new generation of secure, intelligent NICs with an onboard RISC processor (3XP processor). The 3XP processor is designed to optimize system and network performance. The NIC off-loads key networking and security tasks from the host computer CPU (central processing unit) to the 3XP processor, even when running bandwidth-intensive applications such as voice, video, imaging, and Internet and intranet applications.

Data Encryption

The 3CR990-FX-97 NIC provides Data Encryption Standard (DES) 56-bit encryption and 3DES (3DES 168-bit) encryption. Encryption processing is handled entirely by the 3XP processor on the NIC.

The 3XP processor enables true end-to-end network security (IPSec) at the data capacity of the connected network cable (wire speed), without sacrificing performance.

The 3CR990-FX-97 NIC is shipped with encryption enabled.

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