Difference between IPSec and GRE (With Table)

The emergency of technology, it led to the emergency of other series of things to make it more effective.

A computer network contains and works with a chain of many different things and networks. For the computers to be connected it requires an established network.

The connection makes the computers share data and resources easily. There are various types of networks. They include the internet, intranet, and extranet.

IPSec and GRE are some of the methods by which data is transferred across public intermediary networks such as the internet.

The two methods work differently although they have been thought to be one. IPSec stands for Internet Protocol Security while GRE stands for Generic Routing Encapsulation.

So, what is the main difference between IPSec and GRE? IPSec is a primary protocol if the internet while GRE is the tunneling protocol for the internet.

For more information on the differences between IPSec and GRE in tabular form continue reading the article. You will also get to learn of the similarities between the two.

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Comparison Table (IPSec vs GRE)

Basic Terms	IPSec	GRE
Abbreviations	It stands for Internet Protocol Security	It stands for Generic Routing Encapsulation.
Type of protocol	It is a primary protocol.	It is a tunneling protocol of the internet.
Security	It offers full confidentiality security.	It offers little security.
Delays	It does not have any header to cause delays.	It has an additional overhead byte header which may cause delays.
Routed protocol	It cannot carry routed protocol along with the IP packet.	It can carry any routed protocol as well as IP packets in IP networks

What is IPSec?

IPSec stands for Internet Protocol Security. It is a primary protocol. It is one of the protocols used by the internet.

It routes packets to the computers or any other device that is using the network. With the packets, it can be used to host more than one host which makes it easier to detect and address any kind of error.

Packets are needed in order to protect IP communication between the two parties. Some of the security systems used by the internet include; SSL which stands for Security Socket Layer, SSH which stands for Secure Shell, and TLS which stands for Transport Layer Security.

IPSec is used to protect data shared between two hosts. It only secures two security gateways or a gateway and a host.

It offers confidentiality and security associations that provide data for Authentication Header or Encapsulating Security Payloads operations making it safer than other methods.

What is GRE?

GRE stands for Generic Routing Encapsulating. It is the tunneling protocol of the internet. It offers little security to the data as compared to IPSec.

It carries or controls other routing protocols that exist in IP networks and IP packets too. It includes additional overhead bytes headers that may act as barriers to some functioning and cause delays in the routing and forwarding of the packets.

It is stateless and has no flow control mechanisms. As compared to IPSec, GRE is a little less secure hence many people can get access to the data without the error being detected.

Main Difference between IPSec and GRE

IPSec stands for Internet Protocol Security while GRE stands for Generic Routing Encapsulation.
IPSec is a primary protocol while GRE is a tunneling protocol of the internet.
IPSec offers full confidentiality security while GRE offers little less security.
IPSec does not have any header to cause delays while GRE has an additional overhead byte header which may cause delays.
IPSec cannot carry routed protocol along with the IP packet while GRE can carry any routed protocol as well as IP packets in IP networks.

Similarities between IPSec and GRE

They both use the internet.
Both transfer data.
Both have security.

Conclusion

IPSec and GRE are methods that are used to transfer data. The two are often confused by their work differently. They both use the internet and they are safe. The data they transfer is secured in that an intruder cannot access it without permission.

However, the two methods are different. The main difference between IPSec and GRE is that IPSec is a primary protocol while GRE is a tunneling protocol of the internet.

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