HTTP vs HTTPS performance

Question

Are there any major differences in performance between http and https? I seem to recall reading that HTTPS can be a fifth as fast as HTTP. Is this valid with the current g

Answer 1

There is a way to measure this. The tool from apache called jmeter will measure throughput. If you set up a large sampling of your service with jmeter, in a controlled environment, with and without SSL, you should get an accurate comparison of the relative cost. I would be interested in your results.