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Configuring IPsec Security Associations

Configuring Manual IPsec Security Associations for an ES PIC

To use IPsec security services, you create security associations (SAs) between hosts. An SA is a simplex connection that allows two hosts to communicate with each other securely by means of IPsec. There are two types of SAs: manual and dynamic.

Manual SAs require no negotiation; all values, including the keys, are static and specified in the configuration. As a result, peers can communicate only when they all share the same configured options.

To configure the manual IPsec SA for an ES PIC, include the manual statement at the edit security ipsec security-association sa-name] hierarchy level:

Tasks to configure a manual SA are:

Configuring the Processing Direction

The direction statement sets inbound and outbound IPsec processing. If you want to define different algorithms, keys, or security parameter index (SPI) values for each direction, you configure the inbound and outbound options. If you want the same attributes in both directions, use the bidirectional option.

To configure the direction of IPsec processing, include the direction statement and specify the direction at the [edit security ipsec security-association sa-name manual] hierarchy level:

The following example shows how to define different algorithms, keys, and security parameter index values for inbound and outbound processing directions:

The following example shows how to define the same algorithms, keys, and security parameter index values for bidirectional processing:

Configuring the Protocol for a Manual SA

IPsec uses two protocols to protect IP traffic: Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) and authentication header (AH). For transport mode SAs, both ESP and AH are supported. The AH protocol is used for strong authentication. The bundle option uses AH authentication and ESP encryption; it does not use ESP authentication because AH provides stronger authentication of IP packets.

Note:

The AH protocol is supported only on M Series routers.

To configure the IPsec protocol on an ES PIC, include the protocol statement at the edit security ipsec security-association sa-name manual direction (inbound | outbound | bidirectional)] hierarchy level and specify the ah, bundle, or esp option:

Configuring the Security Parameter Index

An SPI is an arbitrary value that uniquely identifies which SA to use at the receiving host. The sending host uses the SPI to identify and select which SA to use to secure every packet. The receiving host uses the SPI to identify and select the encryption algorithm and key used to decrypt packets.

Note:

Each manual SA must have a unique SPI and protocol combination.

Use the auxiliary SPI when you configure the protocol statement to use the bundle option.

To configure the SPI on an ES PIC, include the spi statement and specify a value (256 through 16,639) at the [edit security ipsec security-association sa-name manual direction (inbound | outbound | bi-directional] hierarchy level:

Configuring the Auxiliary Security Parameter Index

When you configure the protocol statement to use the bundle option, the Junos OS uses the auxiliary SPI for the ESP and the SPI for the AH.

Note:

Each manual SA must have a unique SPI and protocol combination.

To configure the auxiliary SPI, include the auxiliary-spi statement at the [edit security ipsec security-association sa-name manual direction (inbound | outbound | bi-directional)] hierarchy level and set the value to an integer between 256 and 16,639:

Configuring the Authentication Algorithm and Key

To configure an authentication algorithm and key, include the authentication statement at the [edit security ipsec security-association sa-name manual direction (inbound | outbound | bi-directional)] hierarchy level:

The algorithm can be one of the following:

  • hmac-md5-96—Hash algorithm that authenticates packet data. It produces a 128-bit authenticator value and 96-bit digest.

  • hmac-sha1-96—Hash algorithm that authenticates packet data. It produces a 160-bit authenticator value and a 96-bit digest.

The key can be one of the following:

  • ascii-text key—ASCII text key. With the hmac-md5-96 option, the key contains

  • 16 ASCII characters. With the hmac-sha1-96 option, the key contains 20 ASCII characters.

  • hexadecimal key—Hexadecimal key. With the hmac-md5-96 option, the key contains 32 hexadecimal characters. With the hmac-sha1-96 option, the key contains 40 hexadecimal characters.

Configuring the Encryption Algorithm and Key

To configure IPsec encryption, include the encryption statement and specify an algorithm and key at the [edit security ipsec security-association sa-name manual direction (inbound | outbound | bi-directional)] hierarchy level:

The algorithm can be one of the following:

  • des-cbc—Encryption algorithm that has a block size of 8 bytes; its key size is 64 bits long.

  • 3des-cbc—Encryption algorithm that has a block size of 24 bytes; its key size is 192 bits long.

    Note:

    For a list of Data Encryption Standard (DES) encryption algorithm weak and semiweak keys, see RFC 2409. For 3des-cbc, we recommend that the first 8 bytes not be the same as the second 8 bytes, and that the second 8 bytes be the same as the third 8 bytes.

The key can be one of the following:

  • ascii-text—ASCII text key. With the des-cbc option, the key contains 8 ASCII characters. With the 3des-cbc option, the key contains 24 ASCII characters.

  • hexadecimal—Hexadecimal key. With the des-cbc option, the key contains 16 hexadecimal characters. With the 3des-cbc option, the key contains 48 hexadecimal characters.

    Note:

    You cannot configure encryption when you use the AH protocol.

Configuring Dynamic IPsec Security Associations

You configure dynamic SAs with a set of proposals that are negotiated by the security gateways. The keys are generated as part of the negotiation and do not need to be specified in the configuration. The dynamic SA includes one or more proposals, which allow you to prioritize a list of protocols and algorithms to be negotiated with the peer.

To configure a dynamic SA, include the dynamic statement at the [edit security ipsec security-association sa-name] hierarchy level. Specify an IPsec policy name, and optionally, a 32-packet or 64-packet replay window size.