What is tunneling primarily used for in networking?

Tunneling is primarily used in networking to encapsulate packets within another protocol, allowing for the creation of a secure and private connection over a public or less secure network. This process often includes the encryption of the traffic payload. By encapsulating the original data and encrypting it, tunneling ensures that sensitive information remains secure during transmission. This practice is commonly seen in virtual private networks (VPNs), where data from a user's device is transmitted securely through the tunnel to the destination, protecting it from eavesdroppers.

While enhancing network speed, establishing a direct connection, and filtering network traffic are important networking concepts, they do not specifically capture the main purpose of tunneling. Tunneling does not inherently enhance speed; instead, it may introduce some overhead due to the encapsulation and encryption processes. It establishes a logical connection but focuses more on securing data rather than merely connecting two endpoints. Lastly, while some tunneling protocols may help with traffic management, filtering is generally not their primary function. Thus, the correct answer focuses on the primary function of tunneling related to data security and encryption.