Pptp-2. ipsec-a protocol or set of communication rules called point-to-point tunneling protocol (pptp) has been proposed that would make it possible to create a virtual private network (vpn) through tunnels over the internet. this would mean that companies would no longer need their own leased lines for wide-area communication but could securely use the public networks. ipsec is more resource intensive, and provides higher security. ipsec is available in windows 2000 and xp/.net operating systems.l2tp is a successor to pptp. its development was done by an industry coalition, and it includes the best features of pptp and l2f. ospf is a routing protocol.