The SonicWALL SSL Offloader is a network appliance that is placed in front of any web server tasked with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) transactions. The SonicWALL SSL Offloader offloads the web server from the heavy burden of encryption and decryption for each secure process. The SonicWALL SSL Offloader uses a powerful onboard processor and its own operating system and internal TCP stack to perform all secure transaction functions. The result is a dramatic increase in performance for overburdened E-Commerce servers.