2002 - cesnet

Figure 16.4: Cisco–Linux measurement resultsThe graph clearly illustrates that the highest performance was reached with amodified kernel by RedHat. This kernel significantly differs from the standardkernel in some aspects (the kernel is obtained by applying 215 patches withthe total size of 35 MB). Unfortunately, we were unable to find out which of themodifications has the essential influence on the transfer speed increase. An importantpart of the RedHat kernel modifications is a set of patches by Alan Cox.That is why we also tested the standard kernel with these patches applied. Theresults were better than those of the standard kernel, though not as good as inthe case of the RedHat kernel.A detailed description of all measurements performed and our experience withthe Cisco SN 5428 device can be found in the CESNET technical report No. 15/2002.16.3 iSCSI SecurityiSCSI employs two independent security mechanisms, which complement eachother:• target–initiator authentication in the iSCSI link layer• data packets protection on the IP layer (IPSec)If the iSCSI implementation is to comply with the [SSC02] draft, both the targetand the initiator must support authentication. The existing security levels ofindividual iSCSI implementations can be characterized by several approaches.180 High-speed National Research Network and its New Applications 2002