A tunneling protocol or alias Tunneling Protocol, a communication protocol used in computer networks that allows data to be moved from one network to another. It allows private network communication to be transmitted over a public network, such as the Internet, through a process in which the network protocol is embedded in TCP / IP packets provided by the Internet. In addition, the tunnel protocol allows, for example, a foreign protocol to run on a network that does not support that protocol by default, such as running IPv6 over IPv4.

Another important use is to provide services that are inappropriate or insecure using only the underlying network services, such as providing a corporate network address to a remote user whose physical network address is not part of the corporate network. Because the tunnel involves the repackaging of traffic data into another form, encryption can hide the nature of the traffic passing through the tunnel.

The tunnel protocol works by using the data portion of the packet (media) to transport the packets that provide the service. Tunnels use a multi-layer protocol model, such as the TCP / IP protocol suite, but it usually violates stratification when you use the media protocol to carry a service that is not normally provided by the network. Typically, the carrier protocol operates at or above the same level in this layer model as the transported protocol.

Tunneling varieties:

• VPN tunneling
• SSH tunneling
• SSL tunneling
• HTTP tunneling
• DNS tunneling
• ICMP tunneling
• IPv6 to IPv4 tunneling