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Intel QAT Engine

Accelerate cryptographic operations with Intel QuickAssist Technology. Hardware and software acceleration for OpenSSL on Intel platforms.

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Quick Start

Get up and running with Intel QAT Engine in minutes

1

Install QAT Engine

Install from your distribution’s package manager or build from source.
# Fedora, RHEL, CentOS
dnf install qatengine

# Ubuntu
apt-get install qatengine
The package will install the QAT Engine library and configure it for use with your system’s OpenSSL installation.
2

Configure OpenSSL

Set the environment variable to enable the QAT engine.
export OPENSSL_ENGINES=/usr/lib64/engines-3
Or configure it in your OpenSSL configuration file for automatic loading.
3

Verify Installation

Test that the engine is loaded correctly.
openssl engine -t -c -v qatengine

(qatengine) Reference implementation of QAT crypto engine
 [RSA, DSA, DH, AES-128-CBC-HMAC-SHA1, AES-128-CBC-HMAC-SHA256,
  AES-256-CBC-HMAC-SHA1, AES-256-CBC-HMAC-SHA256, TLS1-PRF, 
  HKDF, X25519, X448]
    [ available ]
4

Run Performance Tests

Benchmark cryptographic operations with hardware acceleration.
openssl speed -engine qatengine -elapsed -async_jobs 72 rsa2048
You should see significantly improved performance compared to software-only execution.

Key Features

Everything you need for high-performance cryptographic acceleration

Hardware Acceleration

Leverage Intel QuickAssist Technology hardware for RSA, ECDH, ECDSA, AES-GCM, ChaCha20-Poly1305, and more.

Software Optimization

Optimized software acceleration using Intel instruction sets on 3rd Gen Xeon and newer platforms.

Asynchronous Operations

Non-blocking async job handling for maximum throughput in multi-threaded applications.

OpenSSL 3.0 Provider

Native provider interface support for OpenSSL 3.0 alongside traditional engine interface.

FIPS 140-3 Ready

Built with FIPS 140-3 Level-1 certification requirements in mind.

Dual-Mode Operation

Run QAT_HW and QAT_SW simultaneously, with automatic algorithm routing.

Explore by Topic

Deep dive into specific areas of the QAT Engine

Installation Guide

System requirements, package installation, and building from source.

Configuration

OpenSSL configuration, engine control messages, and driver settings.

API Reference

Complete reference for QAT_HW and QAT_SW acceleration APIs.

Advanced Features

KPT, software fallback, pipelining, and BoringSSL integration.

Integration Examples

Real-world integration with NGINX, HAProxy, and other applications.

Troubleshooting

Common issues, debugging techniques, and known limitations.

Ready to Accelerate Your Cryptography?

Start using Intel QAT Engine today to unlock hardware-accelerated performance for your OpenSSL-based applications.

Get Started Now