IPsec is an addition to IP protocol that allows authentication and encryption of IP datagrams. It is defined in detail in IETF RFCs 2401, RFC 2402, RFC 2406 and RFC 2407 (see Resources). IPsec can be used to secure a rather wide range of scenarios; one of its best-known usages is creating virtual private networks (VPNs). . . .
IPsec is an addition to IP protocol that allows authentication and encryption of IP datagrams. It is defined in detail in IETF RFCs 2401, RFC 2402, RFC 2406 and RFC 2407 (see Resources). IPsec can be used to secure a rather wide range of scenarios; one of its best-known usages is creating virtual private networks (VPNs). A VPN is a secure, private tunnel between two sub-networks using encrypted communication over the Internet.

FreeS/WAN has been the main IPsec implementation for Linux for a long time. Unfortunately, FreeS/WAN has never been integrated into the Linux kernel itself. Instead, the new native kernel IPsec implementation is based on the KAME project, a part of the UNIX/BSD family.

The USAGI project used the BSD code from the KAME project as a base for integrating IPsec into the Linux kernel. KAME's user-space tools, specifically setkey and Racoon, have been ported to Linux by the IPsec-tools Project (see Resources).

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