Algotronix Limited is based in the UK and was established in 1998. It has a range of advanced crypto IP products. The products have been designed into military, gaming and other secure applications around the world.
Algotronix recently enhanced its extensive range of AES cores by adding MACsec cores that are used to secure data on Ethernet links at up to 10 Gbps.
The Media Access Control Security (MACsec) products comply with the requirements of IEEE 802.1AE. They are available as intellectual property cores for commercial FPGAs to cover the needs of gigabit Ethernet for 1 GbE and 10 GbE throughputs for terrestrial applications. The architectural design allows 10 Gbps to be achieved in readily available 40-nm or 28-nm FPGAs, while the 1G data rate product can use lower cost families.
The design has been carefully crafted to support both jumbo frames and minimum size packets with a key change on every packet, which represents the worst case situation for the system.
The cores support both 128-bit encryption keys as well as the newly standardised 256-bit keys used for higher levels of security.
MACsec provides confidentiality and authentication in the link layer (layer 2) and prevents eavesdropping and so-called “man-in-the-middle” attacks, because it detects any alteration or replay of frames.
MACsec is agnostic to the Ethernet traffic type, and with the introduction of these cores can be easily added to systems to provide an additional layer of protection to a network.
Systems not equipped with MACsec can, of course, still communicate, but without the secure features provided by the system.
There is a rapidly growing awareness of the emerging MACsec standard. The cores shipping today provide the solution for ground-based systems. The UK Technology Strategy Board funded a feasibility study that confirmed that satellite links with data rates of 500 Mbps to beyond 1 Gbps can be implemented in flight-ready FPGAs.
The MACsec cores can support a range of FPGA families. The IP is supplied as source code with a very extensive verification testbench. Customers can select from various modes and parameterise the performance to match their needs. All AES products are built around cores that are NIST certified for compliance. Applying the cores to ASIC technology provides a route to lower power and even higher performance. The cores comply with the full specification, however customers who do not need all the features can be provided with a sub-set to save resources. Algotronix can also quote for bespoke cores with additional capabilities.
MACsec typically works in conjunction with IEEE 801.1X-2010 which provides the secure key distribution around the network.
For more details call +44 (0) 7786 234904 or email paul@high-tech-marketing.co.uk
