Using Hardware Crypto Accelerator With Enterprise Server

Using Hardware Crypto Accelerator With Enterprise Server

You can use hardware accelerator tokens to improve the cryptographic performance and to furnish a secure key storage facility. Additionally, you can provide end users with mobile secure key storage through smart cards.

Sun Java System Application Server supports the use of PKCS#11 tokens for SSL or TLS communications and Network Security Services (NSS) tools for managing keys and PKCS#11 tokens. This section describes how Enterprise Server provides that support and walks you through the procedures for the related configurations.

J2SE 5.0 PKCS#11 providers can be easily integrated with the Enterprise Server runtime. Through these providers, you can use hardware accelerators and other PKCS#11 tokens in Enterprise Server to achieve fast performance and to protect the private key inherent in SSL or TLS communications.

This section contains the following topics:

“About Configuring Hardware Crypto Accelerators” on page 120

“Configuring PKCS#11 Tokens” on page 121

“Managing Keys And Certificates” on page 122

“Configuring J2SE 5.0 PKCS#11 Providers” on page 124

About Configuring Hardware Crypto Accelerators

Sun GlassFish Enterprise Server has been tested with Sun Crypto Accelerator 1000 (SCA-1000) and SCA-4000.

Enterprise Server can communicate with PKCS#11 tokens. Packaged with Enterprise Server are an NSS PKCS#11 token library (for the NSS Internal PKCS#11 Module, commonly known as the NSS soft token) and NSS command-line management tools. For more details, see “Using Network Security Services (NSS) Tools” on page 116.

Use the NSS tools to create keys and certificates on PKCS#11 tokens and J2SE PKCS#11 providers to access token keys and certificates at runtime. A PKCS#11 provider is a cryptographic service provider that acts as a wrapper around a native PKCS#11 library. A PKCS#11 token generally refers to all the hardware and software tokens with a native PKCS#11 interface. A hardware token is a PKCS#11 token implemented in physical devices, such as hardware accelerators and smart cards. A software token is a PKCS#11 token implemented entirely in software.

Note – If you run Enterprise Server on the J2SE 1.4.x platform, only one PKCS#11 token, the NSS soft token, is supported.

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Sun GlassFish Enterprise Server 2.1 Administration Guide • December 2008

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Sun Microsystems 820433510 manual Using Hardware Crypto Accelerator With Enterprise Server