TunnelingVerfahren

TunnelingVerfahren describes a set of techniques used in computer networking to encapsulate one protocol within another so that data can traverse through network segments that would normally block or modify it. The concept first emerged in the early 1990s with the invention of IP‑in‑IP tunnelling, which allowed an IP packet to be wrapped inside another IP header and sent across a non‑IP backbone. Early implementations such as GRE (Generic Routing Encapsulation) and IPsec tunnels found use in inter‑continental WAN links and in establishing secure point‑to‑point connections over unsecured networks.

In contemporary practice, tunneling is most commonly associated with virtual private networks (VPNs). Protocols such as PPTP, L2TP, OpenVPN, and WireGuard create tunnels that encrypt traffic at the application or transport layer, thereby providing confidentiality, integrity and sometimes authentication. TLS tunnels, implemented through HTTPS proxies or SSH port forwarding, allow data to flow over HTTP(S) ports and bypass firewalls that monitor non‑encrypted protocols. Lightweight tunnels like SOCKS are often used by anonymity networks to route client traffic through multiple relay nodes.

The principal motivation for employing tunneling is to bypass restrictive network policies, ensure privacy over public infrastructure, or facilitate routing across incompatible protocol stacks. The encapsulation process introduces overhead in both packet size and processing time, potentially impacting latency and throughput. Additionally, deep‑packet inspection can sometimes detect characteristic tunnel headers, allowing for traffic shaping or blocking. As networking environments continue to evolve, tunneling remains a foundational method for ensuring flexible, secure, and adaptable data transport across diverse networks.