What is SSL Offloading? (2024)

FAQs

What does SSL offloading mean? ›

SSL offloading is the process of removing the SSL-based encryption from incoming traffic to relieve a web server of the processing burden of decrypting and/or encrypting traffic sent via SSL. The processing is offloaded to a separate device designed specifically for SSL acceleration or SSL termination.

Various tools for SSL/TLS offloading include SSL accelerators, Application Delivery Controllers (ADCs), Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) and software reverse proxies.

SSL Offloading, also known as SSL termination or SSL decryption, is a technique where SSL traffic is decrypted at the load balancer and then forwarded to the backend servers as unencrypted HTTP traffic.

SSL termination at load balancer is desired because decryption is resource and CPU intensive. Putting the decryption burden on the load balancer enables the server to spend processing power on application tasks, which helps improve performance. It also simplifies the management of SSL certificates.

SSL: Secure Sockets Layer

SSL is standard technology for securing an internet connection by encrypting data sent between a website and a browser (or between two servers). It prevents hackers from seeing or stealing any information transferred, including personal or financial data.

​​ Disable Universal SSL certificate

Select your domain. Go to SSL/TLS > Edge Certificates. For Disable Universal SSL, select Disable Universal SSL. Read the warnings in the Acknowledgement.

Benefits of SSL Offloading

This results in smooth loading of the website and faster processing of requests at the end of the web application. It may also aid in HTTPS inspection, reverse proxy, traffic control, persistence of cookies, etc., depending on what kind of SSL load balancer you have installed at your end.

What is the difference between SSL termination and offloading? ›

SSL bridging: The Load Balancer decrypts incoming HTTPS traffic, and re-encrypts it when sending to the backend server. SSL offloading (aka SSL termination): The Load Balancer decrypts incoming HTTPS traffic, and sends it to the backend server unencrypted.

Locate and right-click on the certificate you wish to remove. Click on Properties and then in the General tab, click on Disable all purposes for this certificate in the Certificate purposes section. Hit Apply and restart your server to complete the removal process.

Disadvantages: If the SSL termination takes place in an internal network and the communication between the SSL offloading device and the web server is not sufficiently secure, there is a risk of interception or manipulation within the internal network.

If you use HTTPS (SSL or TLS) for your front-end listener, you must deploy an SSL/TLS certificate on your load balancer. The load balancer uses the certificate to terminate the connection and then decrypt requests from clients before sending them to the instances.

SSL offloading (aka SSL termination): The Load Balancer decrypts incoming HTTPS traffic, and sends it to the backend server unencrypted. SSL passthrough: The Load Balancer does not decrypt incoming HTTPS traffic, and sends it to the backend server 'as is'.

SSL helps prevent a website from leaking sensitive personal or business data, such as a social security number or bank account information, to unapproved third parties. Firefox recommends that you do not turn off SSL certificates, but you may need to disable them temporarily to troubleshoot problems with the browser.