SSL cert constantly downloading

I'm doing a sniffer trace on an Oracle Java-based applet. It starts
out on a https web page then launches a local Java app and continues
to communicate through SSL with the content Oracle App content engine,
but it isn't a url-based web site at that point.

The app is chatty.

Each port 443 connection negotiates the TCP connect to apache, then
the server sends about 2k worht of info containing various Verisign
info on the server certifciate and copyright, etc. Then the
transaction will do whatever it was supposed (typically less than 1k
exchange of data) then closes. Each connection repeats this. A bout
2k of Vreisign certs for 1k of data.

If I connect to a standard https website this certificate download
occurs ONCE at the beginning of the session and never again.


Of course I don't own the server, apache, code, or backend. But the
NETWORK is slow. So I have to find out what is wrong with this one
application.


The chattiness will likely work out to be the major contirubtor, but
seeing Verisign downloaded 12 times per second... something is wrong.

I just don't know where to lay blame (Apache misconfig, java client
error, oracle dev app issue).

Anyone see or think of a mistake in SSL config that would trigger
constant transfers of cert to clients for every single https
transaction?

DiGiTAL_ViNYL (no email)