What is L2TP VPN and How Does it Work?
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A Brief Overview of L2TP VPN
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What is L2TP?
L2TP stands for Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol, and it doesn’t provide any encryption by itself. L2TP usually uses an authentication protocol, IPSec (Internet Protocol Security). It uses it for strong encryption and authentication. IPSec gives it an ultimate edge on some other most used protocols like PPTP. The protocol uses UDP ports 1701.
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How Does L2TP Work?
The data transmitted via the L2TP/IPSec protocol is usually authenticated twice. Each data packet transmitted via the tunnel includes L2TP headers. As a result, the data is de-multiplexed by the server. The double authentication of the data slows down performance. But, it does provide the highest security.
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Why is L2TP a Popular VPN Protocol?
One of the many reasons that make L2TP a popular protocol is that there are no known vulnerabilities. And, the double encryption gives users a peace of mind when they use the internet. Moreover, Mac and Windows OS support the protocol.
Benefits of L2TP VPN?
Advantages
- Unlike PPTP, it offers excellent level of encryption and security
- The protocol encapsulates the data twice, which means double data verification.
- The protocol is available on not only desktop but also mobile operating systems.
- L2TP is quite easy to configure on all the operating systems it supports.
Disadvantages
- It offers slow performance because of double authentication (encapsulation).
- There are some firewalls that can block the L2TP protocol ports.
- The protocol is difficult to configure on devices that run on NAT routers.
Features of L2TP VPN
Secure Connection
It works with AES or 3DES algorithms used for the most secure 256-bit key encryption.
Better Link Establishment
L2TP uses the UDP Port 1701 for configuration, the UDP Port 500 for key exchange and the UDP Port 4500 for NAT.
Safest Protocol
Due to highest level encryption and double encapsulation, it ranks among safest protocols.
How to Setup L2TP
Step-by-step guide on how to setup L2TP VPN on different operating systems such as Windows 7, Windows 8, Mac OSX, iOS, Linux, Android and more.
Other L2TP manual setups can be seen here.