V2Ray Protocols Guide

Understanding V2Ray's advanced proxy protocols, transport layers, and security features including VMess, VLESS, gRPC, and TLS configurations.

What is V2Ray?

V2Ray is a powerful proxy platform that supports multiple protocols and transport methods. It's designed to provide secure, fast, and flexible network communication with advanced features like traffic obfuscation and protocol multiplexing.

Advanced Security

Multiple encryption layers and obfuscation techniques

High Performance

Optimized protocols for speed and efficiency

Flexible Configuration

Extensive customization and routing options

Core V2Ray Protocols

VMess

Original Protocol

V2Ray's original protocol with built-in encryption and authentication. Provides strong security with dynamic port allocation and time-based authentication.

Key Features

  • • AES-128-GCM encryption
  • • Time-based authentication
  • • Dynamic port allocation
  • • Built-in obfuscation
  • • Alteration detection

Best For

General UseHigh SecurityAnti-Detection

VLESS

Lightweight

A lightweight protocol that removes VMess's built-in encryption, relying on transport layer security. Offers better performance with external encryption.

Key Features

  • • No built-in encryption
  • • Lower CPU overhead
  • • Relies on TLS/XTLS
  • • Better performance
  • • Simpler protocol design

Best For

PerformanceTLS TerminationLow Latency

Trojan

Stealth

Mimics HTTPS traffic to avoid detection. Uses TLS encryption and appears as legitimate web traffic to deep packet inspection systems.

Key Features

  • • HTTPS traffic mimicry
  • • TLS 1.3 encryption
  • • Password authentication
  • • Fallback to web server
  • • DPI resistance

Best For

Censorship BypassStealthEnterprise

Shadowsocks

Compatible

V2Ray's implementation of the popular Shadowsocks protocol. Provides compatibility with existing Shadowsocks infrastructure and clients.

Key Features

  • • AEAD encryption
  • • Wide client support
  • • Simple configuration
  • • Proven reliability
  • • Cross-platform

Best For

CompatibilitySimplicityLegacy Support

Transport Layer Protocols

TLS (Transport Layer Security)

Industry-standard encryption for secure communication

What is TLS?

TLS is a cryptographic protocol that provides secure communication over a network. It's the same technology that secures HTTPS websites, making V2Ray traffic appear as legitimate web browsing.

  • End-to-end encryption
  • Certificate-based authentication
  • Perfect Forward Secrecy
  • Industry standard (TLS 1.3)

TLS in V2Ray

{
  "streamSettings": {
    "network": "tcp",
    "security": "tls",
    "tlsSettings": {
      "serverName": "example.com",
      "certificates": [{
        "certificateFile": "/path/to/cert.pem",
        "keyFile": "/path/to/key.pem"
      }]
    }
  }
}

Basic TLS configuration for V2Ray server

gRPC (Google Remote Procedure Call)

Modern, high-performance RPC framework

What is gRPC?

gRPC is a modern RPC framework that uses HTTP/2 for transport and Protocol Buffers for serialization. In V2Ray, it provides excellent performance and appears as legitimate API traffic.

  • HTTP/2 multiplexing
  • Binary protocol efficiency
  • Streaming support
  • Appears as API traffic

gRPC in V2Ray

{
  "streamSettings": {
    "network": "grpc",
    "security": "tls",
    "grpcSettings": {
      "serviceName": "GunService",
      "multiMode": false
    }
  }
}

gRPC transport configuration for V2Ray

Why Use gRPC?

Performance Benefits:
  • • Lower latency than traditional HTTP
  • • Efficient binary serialization
  • • Connection multiplexing
Security Benefits:
  • • Looks like legitimate API traffic
  • • Hard to detect and block
  • • Works well with CDNs

WebSocket

Real-time communication protocol that works well with CDNs and appears as web traffic.

  • • CDN compatibility
  • • Firewall friendly
  • • Web traffic mimicry

HTTP/2

Modern HTTP protocol with multiplexing and server push capabilities.

  • • Stream multiplexing
  • • Header compression
  • • Server push support

QUIC

UDP-based transport protocol with built-in encryption and reduced latency.

  • • UDP-based
  • • 0-RTT connection
  • • Built-in encryption

Configuration Examples

VMess + TLS + WebSocket

Popular configuration that combines VMess security with TLS encryption over WebSocket transport. 

{
  "inbounds": [{
    "port": 443,
    "protocol": "vmess",
    "settings": {
      "clients": [{
        "id": "uuid-here",
        "level": 1,
        "alterId": 0
      }]
    },
    "streamSettings": {
      "network": "ws",
      "security": "tls",
      "wsSettings": {
        "path": "/ray"
      },
      "tlsSettings": {
        "certificates": [{
          "certificateFile": "/path/to/cert.pem",
          "keyFile": "/path/to/key.pem"
        }]
      }
    }
  }]
}

VLESS + gRPC + TLS

High-performance configuration using VLESS protocol with gRPC transport and TLS encryption. 

{
  "inbounds": [{
    "port": 443,
    "protocol": "vless",
    "settings": {
      "clients": [{
        "id": "uuid-here",
        "level": 0
      }],
      "decryption": "none"
    },
    "streamSettings": {
      "network": "grpc",
      "security": "tls",
      "grpcSettings": {
        "serviceName": "GunService"
      },
      "tlsSettings": {
        "certificates": [{
          "certificateFile": "/path/to/cert.pem",
          "keyFile": "/path/to/key.pem"
        }]
      }
    }
  }]
}

Protocol Comparison

ProtocolSecurityPerformanceStealthBest Transport
VMess High Good Excellent WebSocket + TLS
VLESS Medium* Excellent Excellent gRPC + TLS
Trojan High Excellent Excellent TCP + TLS
Shadowsocks Good Excellent Good TCP/UDP

* VLESS security depends on transport layer encryption (TLS/XTLS)

Best Practices & Recommendations

For Maximum Security

  • Use VMess with TLS 1.3 and valid certificates
  • Enable alterId=0 for better security
  • Use strong UUIDs and change them regularly
  • Implement proper routing rules

For Best Performance

  • Use VLESS with gRPC for lowest latency
  • Enable XTLS for better throughput
  • Use CDN for global acceleration
  • Optimize server location and specs

For Maximum Stealth

  • Use Trojan with fallback website
  • Implement proper SNI and ALPN
  • Use realistic domain names
  • Deploy behind CDN services

General Tips

  • Keep V2Ray updated to latest version
  • Monitor logs for security issues
  • Use multiple protocols for redundancy
  • Test configurations regularly