On: Nginx doesn't suck at SSL after all

[jeremyw]

Unlike the above post, this fellow actually did some broad cipher testing (http://zombe.es/post/4078724716/openssl-cipher-selection), particularly around AESNI instructions in recent Intel chips.

With AESNI, use AES-128, AES-256, RC4-SHA, CAMELLIA-128. Without AESNI, use RC4-SHA, AES-128, AES-256, CAMELLIA-128.

In nginx, this looks like:

  # (wo/AESNI): ssl_ciphers RC4:AES128-SHA:AES:CAMELLIA128-SHA:!MD5:!ADH:!DH:!ECDH:!PSK:!SSLv2
  # (w/AESNI):  ssl_ciphers AES128-SHA:AES:RC4:CAMELLIA128-SHA:!MD5:!ADH:!DH:!ECDH:!PSK:!SSLv2

You eliminate weak ciphers. You retain RC4 for compatibility and speed. You order by performance. (Note that AES-128 is still ranked as secure through 2030 [at least]. You don't need to prefer AES-256.)