Tunneling protocol

In <a href="/facts/Computer_network/3w5RM99p">computer networks</a>, a tunneling protocol is a <a href="/facts/Communication_protocol/5uady7cB">communication protocol</a> which allows for the movement of data from one network to another. They can, for example, allow <a href="/facts/Private_network/CqVdg83c">private network</a> communications to be sent across a public network (such as the <a href="/facts/Internet/Xw1rVvJU">Internet</a>), or for one network protocol to be carried over an incompatible network, through a process called <a href="/facts/Encapsulation_(networking)/xttAQnu0">encapsulation</a>.
Because tunneling involves repackaging the traffic data into a different form, perhaps with <a href="/facts/Encryption/16q29Fdv">encryption</a> as standard, it can hide the nature of the traffic that is run through a tunnel.
Tunneling protocols work by using the data portion of a <a href="/facts/Network_packet/xCYf8SJu">packet</a> (the <a href="/facts/Payload_(computing)/zN2Pgfq6">payload</a>) to carry the packets that actually provide the service. Tunneling uses a layered protocol model such as those of the <a href="/facts/Open_Systems_Interconnection/oxN9Xhjz">OSI</a> or <a href="/facts/TCP/IP/KNkxtSpw">TCP/IP</a> protocol suite, but usually violates the layering when using the payload to carry a service not normally provided by the network. Typically, the delivery protocol operates at an equal or higher level in the layered model than the payload protocol.

Tunneling protocol open-in-new

Tunneling protocol