Internet key exchange. A key management protocol standard that automates the implementations of other protocols (such as ISAKMP, Oakley) used in a VPN connection.

A profile of ISAKMP that is for use by IPSec. IKE creates a private, authenticated key management channel. Using that channel, two peers can communicate, arranging for session keys to be generated for AH, ESP, or IPcomp. The channel is used for the peers to agree on the encryption, authentication, and compression algorithms to be used. The traffic to which the policies are applied is also agreed upon.