HTTP vs HTTPS performance

Question

Are there any major differences in performance between http and https? I seem to recall reading that HTTPS can be a fifth as fast as HTTP. Is this valid with the current g

Answer 1

In a number of cases the performance impact of SSL handshakes will be mitigated by the fact that the SSL session can be cached on both ends (desktop and server). On Windows machines for example the SSL session can be cached for up to 10 hours. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/247658/EN-US . Some SSL accelerators will also have parameters allowing you to tune the time the session is cached.

Another impact to consider is that static content served over HTTPS will not be cached by proxies, and this may reduce performance across multiple users accessing the site over the same proxy. This can be mitigated by the fact that static content will be cached at desktops as well, Internet Explorer versions 6 and 7 cache cacheable HTTPS static content unless instructed to do otherwise (Tools Menu/Internet Options/Advanced/Security/Do not save encrypted pages to disk).