WHAT IS POINT TO POINT TUNNELLING PROTOCOL?

The Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol is an obsolete method for implementing virtual private networks. PPTP has many well known security issues. PPTP uses a TCP control channel and a Generic Routing Encapsulation tunnel to encapsulate PPP packets. Many modern VPNs use various forms of UDP for this same functionality.

What is the use of point to point tunneling protocol?

The Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is a network protocol used to implement Virtual Private Network (VPN) tunnels between public networks. PPTP servers are also known as Virtual Private Dialup Network (VPDN) servers.

What are the two 2 types of tunneling in Point to Point Tunneling Protocol?

PPTP?PPTP supports two types of tunneling: Voluntary tunneling: Initiated by the PPTP client (such as Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, or Windows 2000). … Compulsory tunneling: Initiated by a PPTP server at an ISP. This type of tunneling must be supported by network access servers (NAS’s) or routers.

CONFIGURATION OF POINT TO POINT TUNNELLING

The Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is a network protocol used to implement Virtual Private Network (VPN) tunnels between public networks. PPTP servers are also known as Virtual Private Dialup Network (VPDN) servers. PPTP uses a control channel over Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and a Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) tunnel operating to encapsulate Point-to-Point (PPP) packets. The most common PPTP implementation is with the Microsoft Windows product families and implements different levels of authentication and encryption natively as standard features of the Windows PPTP stack. PPTP is preferred over other protocols because it is faster and has the ability to work on mobile devices.

This article aims to show you how to configure a PPTP server on the RV34x Series Router.

Applicable Devices

• RV34x Series

Software Version

• 1.0.01.16

Configure PPTP

Step 1. Log in to the web-based utility of the router and choose VPN > PPTP Server. 

Step 2. Click the On PPTP Server radio button to enable the PPTP Server.

Step 3. In the Start IP Address field, enter the starting IP address of the IP address range to be assigned to users. These are reserved IP addresses for PPTP users.

Note: For this example, 10.0.0.1 is used.

Step 4. In the End IP Address field, enter the ending IP address of the IP address range.

Note: For this example, 10.0.0.14 is used.

Step 5. In the DNS1 IP Address field, enter the IP address of the DNS server.

Note: For this example, 192.168.1.150 is used.

Step 6. (Optional) In the DNS2 IP Address field, enter the IP address of the second DNS server.

Note: For this example, 192.168.1.151 is used.

Step 7. In the User Authentication area, choose a profile which the users will be authenticated. The options are admin or guest.

Step 8. From MPPE Encryption drop-down list, choose an option to encrypt point-to-point links. The options are:

• None — No encryption.
• 128 bits — 128-bit key Microsoft Point-to-Point Encryption (MPPE) encryption keys are supported.

Note: Microsoft Point-to-Point Encryption (MPPE) not only encrypts PPP packets but also uses a compression algorithm to optimize bandwidth utilization in order to support multiple simultaneous connections. This option can only be enabled or disabled if you enable the PPTP Server.

Step 9. Click Apply.

Step 10. (Optional) To save the configuration permanently, go to the Copy/Save Configuration page or click the  icon at the upper portion of the page.

You should now have successfully configured the PPTP settings on the RV34x Series Router.

Advantages of PPTP

1. Compatibility Technically PPTP is compatible with all platforms including Windows, Mac OS and Linux. And also vast range of devices too support PPTP. If you have a computer with Windows operating system installed, it on default supports PPTP. Which means that installation and configuration will be much easier. 

 2. Usability Setting up a PPTP protocol can be done seamless since there is no data encryption involved in PPTP. This does not require Public key infrastructure or computer certificate installation. Therefore, it is a complete user friendly process.

  3. Cost Comparing to other options of VPN protocol PPTP is considered to be really cheap. This is again due to the fact that it does not require digital certificates and Public key infrastructure. Moreover for the installation process you don’t need to be an expert. This can be done with basic networking knowledge. 

  4. Internet Speed Under normal circumstances, establishing a VPN connection gradually reduces your Internet speed. But this has very minimal effect in PPTP protocol because of its low level of encryption. As a result PPTP ensures good internet speeds.

  5. Unblocking Content Some countries block their VOD and TV services from streaming video content. Using PPTP protocol, you can unblock and access those contents irrespective of the country which you are in. 

Disadvantages of PPTP

1. Performance PPTP often faces performance issues when it is used on unstable networks. As long as there are no lots of private informations, it will not be an issue to connect employees and share documents.

  2. Security Security levels offered by the PPTP protocols is quite low as it is limited to 128 bit encryption only. Even though this increases the security to some extent, hackers with sophisticated hacking tricks can easily get the informations. That is the reason why it is always recommended to have at least 256 bit encryption. 

 3. Reliability PPTP is known to be less reliable since it lacks data origin verification and data integrity process. Which means that you cannot ensure whether the data sent to authentic and not altered. And also it fails to verify the origin source. Therefore, sensitive informations sent over this protocol needs to be questioned in terms of reliability.  4. Firewall Restrictions Internet Service Providers (ISPs) often impose firewalls that recognizes and blocks PPTP protocols. This is as a result of a security measure.

  5. NSA Cracking There are theories stating that PPTP has been cracked by the NSA. Note that this is only a theory and yet to be proven.

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