SSL always has a significant impact on throughput, so for best performance minimize your use of SSL, or consider using a multi-CPU server to handle it.
For SSL, the Web Server uses the NSS library. However, there are other options available for SSL:
If you are using the Solaris 10 operating system, kernel SSL (KSSL) is available. It does not contain all the algorithms available, as does NSS, but it often provides better performance.
A cryptographic card hardware accelerator for SSL can also improve performance.
If you are using the 64–bit Web Server on Solaris, you can use the cryptographic accelerator of the UltraSPARC T1 processor.