What is HTTPS?
HTTPS stands for "Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure" and is one of the protocols that operates at the application layer. Unlike HTTP, which sends and receives requests and responses in plain text, HTTPS uses the SSL/TLS protocol for authentication and encryption to secure communication channels. URLs that use HTTPS are identified with the "https" scheme, and web pages accessed via HTTPS are often referred to as "SSL-secured pages."
To enable HTTPS communication, a website requires an SSL server certificate. This certificate must be issued by a trusted third-party Certificate Authority (CA). When accessing a website with a valid SSL certificate, browsers display indicators such as a "lock icon," signaling that the site is secure.
Typically, SSL certificates are stored on web servers, which handle encryption and decryption (a process known as "SSL termination" or "SSL offloading"). However, as the number of web servers grows, managing SSL certificates becomes costly and complex. Additionally, if security devices like Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) are placed in front of web servers, these devices cannot inspect encrypted traffic, limiting their effectiveness.
Recently, the trend of prioritizing SSL-secured pages in search engine rankings has driven more companies to secure all their web pages with SSL. This has made solving the aforementioned challenges more critical.
One effective solution is to deploy an Application Delivery Controller (ADC) as the website's frontend to handle SSL termination. F5 BIG-IP is an ADC that supports SSL termination and includes hardware-based SSL acceleration to enhance encryption and decryption speed.