What is Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE)? (2024)

Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) is a routing protocol developed by Cisco Systems in 1994 that allows a wide range of network-layer protocols to be contained inside virtual point-to-point or point-tomultipointlinks over an Internet Protocol network. Protocolencapsulation, not GRE specifically, breaks the layering sequence, according to the OSI principles of protocol layering.

GRE can be thought of as a barrier between two protocol stacks, one of which serves as a carrier for the other. IP protocol type 47 is used for GRE packets enclosed within IP. It is a tunnelling protocol and is defined by RFC 2784. GRE provides both stateless and private connection.

GRE establishes a secure, stateless connection. The protocol establishes a connection that is comparable to that of a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Over an IP network, it can carry any OSI layer three protocol.

GRE establishes a tunnel between two routers over the Internet to allow communication between two hosts of different private networks. With the help of Virtual Tunnel Interface, the GRE connection endpoints can be terminated.

GRE creates a private way for packets to travel through an otherwise public network by encapsulating or tunnelling the packets. Tunnel endpoints that encapsulate or de-encapsulate the traffic are used in GRE tunnelling.

Encapsulating packets within other packets is known as tunnelling. GRE tunnels are often set up between two routers, with each router acting as the tunnel's end. The routers are configured to send and receive GRE packets directly.

Within an outer IP packet, GRE encapsulates a payload, an inner packet that must be transferred to a target network. GRE tunnel endpoints route encapsulated packets via intervening IP networks to convey payloads across GRE tunnels. GRE tunnels are used to connect different subnetworks.

There are quite a few protocols available for data transfer via a secure network. Protocols were created for a reason, and they're getting better all the time. Whether it's greater security or ease of use and configuration, we always have various aspects to consider when picking the optimal protocol for a network.

What is Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE)? (2024)

FAQs

What is generic routing encapsulation? ›

Generic routing encapsulation (GRE) provides a private path for transporting packets through an otherwise public network by encapsulating (or tunneling) the packets. GRE tunneling is accomplished through tunnel endpoints that encapsulate or de-encapsulate traffic.

What does GRE mean in networking? ›

Generic Routing Encapsulation, or GRE, is a protocol for wrapping data packets inside secondary data packets in order to set up a direct point-to-point network connection.

What is encapsulation in routing? ›

Encapsulation adds information to a packet as it travels to its destination. Decapsulation reverses the process by removing the info, so a destination device can read the original data.

What is the GRE tunnel used for? ›

A GRE tunnel functions like a VPN but without encryption; it transports packets from one endpoint to another through the public network. GRE tunnels typically use keepalive packets to determine if a tunnel is up.

What protocols can GRE encapsulate? ›

Generic routing encapsulation or GRE is a protocol that encapsulates packets of one network protocol, such as IPv4, IPv6, IPX, etc., within the payload of another protocol, like IP. The term “encapsulate” refers to the process of wrapping one data packet within another data packet.

What is a disadvantage of a GRE tunnel? ›

The chief disadvantage of GRE is that it is not considered a secure protocol because it doesn't use encryption like the IP Security (IPsec) Encapsulating Security Payload, defined by RFC 2406. As a result, GRE tunnels can be used to launch DDoS attacks.

What is a GRE used for? ›

The GRE is a standardized test used for admissions into graduate and business school programs. It assesses a student's readiness for advanced academic studies by evaluating their verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, and analytical writing skills.

What are the 2 types of GRE? ›

As mentioned earlier there are two types of GRE – GRE General test and Subject test. GRE general test is offered as computer or paper-based. One of the significant differences between the two GRE exam patterns is that the computer-based GRE is section adaptive in nature.

Is GRE a type of VPN? ›

The Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) protocol is a VPN technology that encapsulates packets and transports them over IP networks. GRE does not support encryption, so the traffic is still in plain-text; it doesn't support authentication, neither does it support any data integrity mechanism.

What port is GRE? ›

Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) uses TCP port 1723 and IP protocol 47 Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE).

What is an example of encapsulation in networking? ›

For example, in the IP suite, the contents of a web page are encapsulated with an HTTP header, then by a TCP header, an IP header, and, finally, by a frame header and trailer.

What is GRE in Cisco? ›

Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) is a tunneling protocol developed by Cisco Systems that can encapsulate a wide variety of network layer protocols inside virtual point-to-point links or point-to-multipoint links over an Internet Protocol network.

What are the advantages of generic routing encapsulation? ›

The advantage of GRE over other tunneling protocols is that it can encapsulate broadcast, multicast traffic (multicast streaming or routing protocols) or other non-IP protocols. GRE packets can be protected by using Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) ensuring confidentiality and integrity of the tunneled traffic.

Is GRE over TCP or UDP? ›

The network connection is done via the GRE protocol (IP protocol number 47. For more information, refer to Wikipedia: List of IP protocol numbers. Since GRE is an IP protocol, it is not based on either TCP or UDP and has no concept of ports. It is an IP protocol by itself.

Why use GRE instead of IPsec? ›

IT teams should use IPsec when they require secure IP tunneling. They should use GRE when they require tunneling without privacy and when they need to tunnel multiple protocols or multicast. Teams can combine GRE on top of IPsec when they need GRE's multiprotocol functionality combined with IPsec's data protection.

What is network virtualization using generic routing encapsulation? ›

Network Virtualization using Generic Routing Encapsulation (NVGRE) is a network virtualization technology that attempts to alleviate the scalability problems associated with large cloud computing deployments. It uses Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) to tunnel layer 2 packets over layer 3 networks.

What is multipoint generic routing encapsulation? ›

Multipoint Generic Routing Encapsulation (mGRE) is used to connect multiple remote sites through a VPN. mGRE uses hub and spoke topology to encapsulate and forward packets from one remote site to another.

What is encapsulation in VPN technology? ›

Encapsulation is really just a process of wrapping the original packet inside another packet created by client-side VPN software. Everything in the original packet is encrypted by a VPN client and can only be read by a VPN server. To the public, this is still a valid packet and will be routed as normal.

Which type of encapsulation is used for OSPF messages? ›

OSPF Message Types

OSPF uses five types of routing protocol packets, which share a common protocol header. Every OSPF packet is directly encapsulated in the IP header. The IP protocol number for OSPF is 89.

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