Overhead analysis of security implementation using IPSec

Authentication, access control, encryption and auditing make up the essential elements of network security. Researchers have dedicated a large amount of efforts to implement security features that fully incorporate the use of all these elements. Currently, data networks mainly provide authentication and confidentiality services. Confidentiality alone is not able to protect the system, thus, suitable security measures must be taken. However, this security is itself an overhead which must be accounted for. A trade-off must exist between performance and security. This trade-off must be carefully managed so as not to deteriorate the systems being secured. This calls for the true cost of security to be accurately measured. This research work measures the overheads involved in implementation of security using IPSec in different wired/wireless data network protocols.