Re: [Caml-list] Ocaml and cryptography

[Anil Madhavapeddy <anil@recoil.org>]

OpenSSL may also be using direct hardware instructions to speed up SHA1/AES, rather doing the work itself. Check out the AES-NI in newer Intel chips, or Padlock SHA1 in Via chips.

This is quite handy, since it means you can also use them to speed up your library on modern chips, but fall back to a reasonably performant implementation if it's not available (without ever having to bind to the rather gnarly OpenSSL monster).

Anil

On 26 Mar 2011, at 06:47, Jehan Pagès <jehan.marmottard@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> I see. Indeed I checked OpenSSL, it is using massively assembly code
> for SHA1 and many other (all?) crypto code...
> 
> And my tests on a 64 bits machine and the huge improvement for OpenSSL
> there makes me think that they must be making very good use of the 64
> bits register for saving the 32 bits words of SHA1 algorithm (they
> probably make some calculation on 2 words at once thanks to this).
> 
> Jehan
> 
> 2011/3/25 Francis Dupont <Francis.Dupont@fdupont.fr>:
>> This is not the first study about crypto implementation speeds.
>> Usually the winner for heavily used algorithms is OpenSSL,
>> BTW not because it is well written but simply because it is
>> optmized in assembly for common platforms (including SSE* & co
>> on x86).
>> 
>> Regards
>> 
>> Francis.Dupont@fdupont.fr
>> 
> 
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