Editing Tunneling protocol (section)

{{short description|Computer communications protocol}}
{{IPstack}}
In [[computer network]]s, a '''tunneling protocol''' is a [[communication protocol]] which allows for the movement of data from one network to another. They can, for example, allow [[private network]] communications to be sent across a public network (such as the [[Internet]]), or for one network protocol to be carried over an incompatible network, through a process called [[Encapsulation (networking)|encapsulation]].

Because tunneling involves repackaging the traffic data into a different form, perhaps with [[encryption]] 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 [[Network packet|packet]] (the [[Payload (computing)|payload]]) to carry the packets that actually provide the service. Tunneling uses a layered protocol model such as those of the [[Open Systems Interconnection|OSI]] or [[TCP/IP]] 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.