ZyXEL Communications ZyWALL 110 Series, User Manual, Page: 307 / 562

Chapter 20 IPSec VPN
ZyWALL 110/310/1100 Series User’s Guide
307
Diffie-Hellman (DH) Key Exchange
The ZyWALL and the remote IPSec router use DH public-key cryptography to establish a shared
secret. The shared secret is then used to generate encryption keys for the IKE SA and IPSec SA. In
main mode, this is done in steps 3 and 4, as illustrated next.
Figure 188
IKE SA: Main Negotiation Mode, Steps 3 - 4: DH Key Exchange
DH public-key cryptography is based on DH key groups. Each key group is a fixed number of bits
long. The longer the key, the more secure the encryption, but also the longer it takes to encrypt
and decrypt information. For example, DH2 keys (1024 bits) are more secure than DH1 keys (768
bits), but DH2 keys take longer to encrypt and decrypt.
Authentication
Before the ZyWALL and remote IPSec router establish an IKE SA, they have to verify each other’s
identity. This process is based on pre-shared keys and router identities.
In main mode, the ZyWALL and remote IPSec router authenticate each other in steps 5 and 6, as
illustrated below. The identities are also encrypted using the encryption algorithm and encryption
key the ZyWALL and remote IPSec router selected in previous steps.
Figure 189
IKE SA: Main Negotiation Mode, Steps 5 - 6: Authentication (continued)
You have to create (and distribute) a pre-shared key. The ZyWALL and remote IPSec router use it in
the authentication process, though it is not actually transmitted or exchanged.
Diffie-Hellman key exchange
3
4
X
Y
Step 5:
pre-shared key
ZyWALL identity, consisting of
- ID type
- content
Step 6:
pre-shared key
Remote IPSec router identity, consisting of
- ID type
- content
5
6
X
Y