Authentication Header (AH) in IPsec

TheAuthentication Header (AH) protocolis part ofIPsecand providesauthentication, integrity, and replay protectionbutdoes NOT provide encryption.

✅B. AH provides data origin authentication.

Ensures thatpackets come from a trusted sourceusing cryptographic signatures.

✅C. AH provides anti-replay protection.

Usessequence numbersto prevent attackers from replaying old packets.

✅D. AH provides data integrity authentication.

Ensuresdata integrityby verifying that packetshave not been tampered withduring transmission.

❌A. AH provides packet encryption – Incorrect!

AH does not encrypt packet contents.It only authenticates headers.

ESP (Encapsulating Security Payload) is used for encryption in IPsec.

Reference from Huawei HCIE-Datacom Documentation:

Huawei IPsec Configuration Guide – AH vs. ESP

HCIE-Datacom Training Material – IPsec Security Mechanisms