HTTPS Performance issue?

[jsteph]

Hello,
(I'm not sure if this is the correct forum...please direct me if this is incorrect)
I'm wondering if there is a noticeable performance hit for a web page that recieves, say a table of information via HTTP and HTTPS.

Assuming all hardware is the same, and everything else that can be the same is identical also--will the HTTPS set of data take significantly longer to transmit and render in the client page, or is it--for all practical purposes--the same?
--Jim

 

[manarth]

Is HTTPS slower?

Yes it is. Encryption increases the bandwidth used, and requires more processing power than unencrypted data.

Whilst in general, it's not a significant impact, the best way to tell is to load-test your webapp on your server (or at least, an identically configured non-production equivalent) under HTTP and HTTPS conditions to measure performance.

Different web servers and varying configurations may mean the performance loss is more dramatic than what you would find acceptable.

The pros and cons of securing Web services with SSL

The increase in message size due to SSL is not very significant, and is rarely a concern.

---
Marcus
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