What is L2TP VPN and How Does it Work?
L2TP stands for Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol, and it doesn’t provide any encryption by itself. L2TP VPN usually uses an authentication protocol, IPSec (Internet Protocol Security), for strong encryption and authentication, which gives it an ultimate edge on some other most used protocols like PPTP. The L2TP protocol uses UDP ports 1701.
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.
One of the many reasons that make L2TP a popular protocol is that there are no known vulnerabilities. Also, the double encryption gives users a peace of mind when they use the internet. Moreover, Mac and Windows OS both support the protocol. Try it today with PureVPN’s $0.99 7-day trial.
L2TP works with AES or 3DES algorithms used for the most secure 256-bit key encryption.
L2TP uses the UDP Port 1701 for configuration, the UDP Port 500 for key exchange, and the UDP Port 4500 for NAT.
Due to highest level encryption and double encapsulation, it ranks among safest protocols.
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.
PureVPN offers support for all major VPN protocols and platforms.