What Protocol Below Supports Two Encryption Modes: Transport And Tunnel?

The IPsec protocol supports the two encryption modes called the transport mode and the tunnel mode. Today let us discuss the Ip security protocol and its two encryption modes.

Typically, the security protocol will be applicable on the three layers. They are the Application layer, network layer, and transport layer of the OSI model. When we apply the security on the network layer of the OSI model, then we call it the Ip security protocol. Now, let us discuss the IPsec protocol in detail. As we discussed earlier, the IPsec protocol has two encryption modes. They are Transport mode and the other one is tunnel mode.

The network layer security can be between any two hosts, any two routers or it can be between a host and the router. The main aim to design the IPsec protocol is to provide security at the network layer of the OSI model. Now, let us discuss each of the layers in detail. The transport mode can be defined as protecting or give security to the data which is delivered from the network layer to the transport layer of the OSI model.

The data that is sent to the transport layer will be protected by the IPsec.

Here we have to remember that the transport mode, will only protect the data that is coming from the transport layer. It doesn’t protect the Ip header, but only protects the packet that is coming from the transport layer of the OSI model.

Another encryption mode is called the tunnel mode, here the tunnel mode will protect the entire Internet protocol data packet that is coming from the transport layer. The Ip security protocol will be applied to the whole IP packet. It is applied between the host to host or between a router to router or it can be between a host to host.

Tunnel mode is an operation mode of the IPsec. Let us take an example to understand this tunnel mode in detail. Let say we have two hosts that are between the two different local area networks. There is a gateway present between the two local area networks. Here, the traffic that is coming from host A to host B will automatically be protected by the tunnel. Host A can send packets that are not protected or encrypted by the hosts. The gateway that is present between the local area networks adds the protection and then it sends the packet to network B. And at host B, it will decrypt the packets that are sent by host A.

A protective packet will be delivered between the B’s gateway.

The main difference between the tunnel mode and the transport mode is that the tunnel mode can able to protect the entire packet and the transport mode will only protect the packet that is coming from the transport layer of the OSI model. This process can be done between the host to host or router to router or can from any node to node.