Performance Optimization and Best Practices

Optimizing SSL/TLS performance involves multiple strategies that reduce latency and computational overhead while maintaining security. Session resumption allows clients to reestablish connections with previously contacted servers without performing a full handshake. Two mechanisms enable this: session IDs, where the server maintains session state, and session tickets, where the client stores encrypted session state.

OCSP stapling represents another important optimization, addressing the performance impact of certificate revocation checking. Instead of requiring clients to contact the certificate authority's OCSP servers during each connection, the web server periodically obtains OCSP responses and "staples" them to the certificate during the handshake. This approach reduces latency and improves privacy by preventing CAs from tracking user browsing patterns.

Hardware acceleration through dedicated cryptographic processors or instruction sets like AES-NI can dramatically improve encryption performance. Modern CPUs include specialized instructions for common cryptographic operations, allowing servers to handle thousands of SSL/TLS connections simultaneously without significant performance degradation. Load balancers and reverse proxies can also offload SSL/TLS processing from application servers, improving overall system architecture.