There are many factors that enable internet service to reach our home through internet service providers. Now we look at the protocols that mediate our connection to the Internet, establishing connections and regulating the flow of data.
There are different data collection protocols to connect a smart device you use to the internet. Among them, PPP, PPTP and PPPoE are the most common and used protocols to date. For this reason, we will take a look at what the terms “PPP, PPTP and PPPoE” are and what they do as our topic for today’s article.
What is PPP?
PPP, or Point to Point Protocol, was proposed as a standard by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in 1989 and was adopted and became the standard in 1994. The IETF specification for PPP is RFC 1661. PPP was the most widely used protocol of the era by internet service providers (ISPs). Thanks to dial-up connections, PPP enables the transmission of data packets between point-to-point connections. Originally designed to work with serial connections, PPP was used by internet service providers to provide dial-up internet access.
PPP uses Link Control Protocol (LCP) to establish a session between a user’s computer and an ISP. The LCP is responsible for determining whether the link is acceptable for data transmission. LCP packets are exchanged between multiple network points to determine connectivity characteristics, including device ID, packet size, and configuration errors.
PPP supports three types of user authentication protocols that provide varying levels of security. Password Authentication Protocol (PAP) is an access control protocol used to authenticate a user’s password on a network access server. The network access server requests a password from the client machine and sends the received password to an authentication server for verification. As an authentication protocol, PAP is considered low-security as the password is not encrypted during transmission.
Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol (CHAP) is similar to PAP with a few unique features. The network access server sends a query message to the client machine instead of asking for a password. The query message is a random value. The client machine encrypts the query message with a user’s password and sends the combination back to the access server. The access server forwards the query/password combination to the authentication server. The authentication server encrypts the query with the password of the user stored in the authentication database. If the user’s response matches correctly, the password is considered correct. CHAP uses a shared secret (user password) model to authenticate the user. Using CHAP is considered a moderately secure authentication method.
Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), on the other hand, is considered an authentication framework used by a number of secure authentication protocols. EAP is most commonly used for authentication in wireless networks.
What is PPTP?
PPTP stands for Point to Point Tunnel Protocol. PPTP is essentially a VPN protocol. Data in PPP can be transferred by PPTP. PPTP is often used to create a VPN. Thus, it is not possible for other users to access these private networks created. PPTP also ensures secure data flow. Even if malicious users access the data, they need the encryption key to access it. Nothing is impossible on the Internet, but with PPTP, data flow becomes more secure. It also provides personal security as it keeps the identity of the person secret while creating a VPN. Although PPP was originally produced as safe, users have started to use the PPTP protocol in order to make data transfer more secure due to some security vulnerabilities. PPTP, one of the oldest data transmission protocols, was later found to have some security vulnerabilities. Although PPTP has higher performance, it has security risks. It is also very simple to set up and use.
What is PPPoE?
The working standard for the PPPoE protocol was published by the IETF in 1999. Unlike PPP, the IETF specification for PPPoE is RFC 2516. PPPoE extends the original capability of PPP by allowing virtual point-to-point connectivity over the multi-point Ethernet network architecture. The mentioned protocol is the most used protocol by today’s internet service providers. Service providers can use the same authentication server for both PPP and PPPoE sessions, resulting in cost savings. PPPoE uses standard encryption, authentication, and compression methods specified by PPP.
PPPoE is configured as a point-to-point connection between two ethernet ports. As a tunneling protocol, PPPoE is used as an effective basis for transporting IP packets at the network layer. IP is covered over a PPP link and uses PPP as a virtual dial-up connection between points on the network. From the user’s perspective, a PPPoE session is initiated using the connection software on the client machine or router. Initiating a PPPoE session involves defining the Media Access Control (MAC) address of the remote device. Also known as PPPoE discovery, this process includes the following steps:
- Initiation: The client software sends a PPPoE Active Discovery Initiation (PADI) packet to the server to initiate the session.
- Offer: The server responds with a PPPoE Active Discovery Offering (PADO) packet.
- Request: Upon receipt of the PADO packet, the client responds by sending a PPPoE Active Discovery Request (PADR) packet to the server.
- Acknowledgment: Upon receipt of the PADR packet, the server responds by generating a unique ID for the PPP session and sends it to the client in a PPPoE Active Discovery Session (PADS) acknowledgment packet.
When a PPPoE session is started, the destination IP address is used only when the session is active. The IP address is released after logout, allowing efficient reuse of IP addresses.
What Does PPPoE Do?
PPPoE stands for Point to Point Protocol Over Ethernet (PPP over Ethernet). It is the basic way to connect to the internet service provider’s server using a modem. With the PPPoE protocol, users can connect to a modem very quickly. PPPoE is also the most commonly used protocol in ADSL and VDSL internet connection. An authentication is required for PPPoE. Users can use it by entering a username and password. Generally, this user name and password are given in contracts with internet service providers. If you don’t know, you can find out by contacting your internet service provider’s customer service. You can independently connect to the Internet via PPPoE by entering a username and password. To make PPPoE settings, you need to enter the wired connections section from your computer. Then you need to enter the username and password parts given to you by your internet service provider. If you are using dynamic IP, ie floating IP, you should automatically tick the IP configuration field. If you are using a static IP, you have to enter your IP address manually. After all these steps, you can start using PPPoE.
All of these protocols required for Internet connection and data transport are based on PPP. PPTP and PPPoE have emerged over time due to the security vulnerabilities of PPP or its inability to fully meet the needs. Currently, the most used system in ADSL and VDSL systems is PPPoE, while PPTP is used to transfer data quickly.
