IPSec performance analysis for large-scale Radio Access Networks

Transition to IP based networks within the telecommunication world is a reality. IP based networks major feature is to enable the merging of wired and wireless networks. However, openness of the network introduces security threats. Therefore, there is the need to adopt solutions to secure transactions. International standardization organizations have proposed the adoption of IPSec as the standard solution to implement. Previous research work has analyzed IPSec characteristics from both theoretical and practical perspective; however, little research has been done regarding IPSec practical characteristics when implementing in large scale radio access networks. This thesis aims to evaluate IPSec implementation performance at the Radio Access Network part of large scale cellular systems. Results derive from Radio Access Networks emulations using realistic traffic characteristics. It is shown that IPSec is suitable for large packet size traffic (512-1420 bytes) given the fact that it reduces overall performance in a 60-80% for small packet size traffic (64-500 bytes).