Basic concepts

CA

Connectivity association (CA) is a group of participants that use the same key and key algorithm. The encryption key used by the CA participants is called a connectivity association key (CAK). The following types of CAKs are available:

The pairwise CAK is used most often because MACsec is typically applied to point-to-point networks.

A CAK can be an encryption key generated during 802.1X authentication or a user-configured preshared key. The user-configured preshared key takes precedence over the 802.1X-generated key.

SA

Secure association (SA) is an agreement negotiated by CA participants. The agreement includes a cipher suite and keys for integrity check.

A secure channel can contain more than one SA. Each SA uses a unique secure association key (SAK). The SAK is generated from the CAK, and MACsec uses the SAK to encrypt data transmitted along the secure channel.

MACsec Key Agreement (MKA) limits the number of packets that can be encrypted by an SAK. When the limit is exceeded, the SAK will be refreshed. For example, when packets with the minimum size are sent on a 10-Gbps link, an SAK rekey occurs about every 300 seconds.