Tunneling

DEFINITION: Tunneling, also known as "port forwarding," is the transmission of data intended for use only within a private, usually corporate network through a public network in such a way that the routing nodes in the public network are unaware that the transmission is part of a private network. Tunneling is generally done by encapsulating the private network data and protocol information within the public network  … 
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TUNNELING DEFINITION (continued): …  transmission units so that the private network protocol information appears to the public network as data. Tunneling allows the use of the Internet, which is a public network, to convey data on behalf of a private network.One approach to tunneling is the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) developed by Microsoft and several other companies. The PPTP keeps proprietary data reasonably secure, even though part of the path(s) between or among end users exists in public communication channels. The PPTP makes it possible for authorized users to gain access to a private network - called a virtual … 
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