One of the most popular methods of setting up a secure connection between different platforms is to use IP Security Protocol (IPSec). IPSec provides cryptographic services at the IP layer supporting data origin authentication, integrity, and confidentiality. The use of IPSec . . .
One of the most popular methods of setting up a secure connection between different platforms is to use IP Security Protocol (IPSec). IPSec provides cryptographic services at the IP layer supporting data origin authentication, integrity, and confidentiality. The use of IPSec is transparent to users and network applications, making it an attractive way to improve the security of existing network services. In this article, I'll show you how to establish and configure an IPSec connection between Solaris and Linux machines.

The Linux implementation of IPSec is FreeS/WAN; Solaris provides its own implementation in Solaris 8. Because both implementations follow the standard protocol, it's not that difficult to get them to communicate with each other. Let's walk through the process of configuring a connection between the two systems. For this example, the Solaris machine is a Sparc20, running Solaris 8, and the Linux system is a laptop, running a heavily modified copy of Mandrake Linux.