If you have read anything about modern VPNs, you may have come across the term “V2Ray.” It shows up in app settings, support articles, and tech forums — but what exactly is it, and why does Redgate use it instead of more traditional protocols like OpenVPN?
What Is V2Ray?
V2Ray is an open-source proxy framework developed by the Project V team. Unlike a single protocol (such as WireGuard or OpenVPN), V2Ray is a platform that supports multiple protocols simultaneously and can combine them in flexible chains. Think of it as a toolkit for building encrypted tunnels, rather than a single tunnel design.
The most commonly used protocols within V2Ray are VMess and VLESS. Both encrypt your traffic and can be carried over a variety of transports — including WebSocket, gRPC, HTTP/2, and plain TCP.
Why Is V2Ray Better at Bypassing Censorship?
Traditional VPN protocols have a recognisable “fingerprint” — patterns in the packet sizes and timing that deep packet inspection (DPI) systems can detect and block. V2Ray solves this in two ways:
- Traffic Obfuscation — V2Ray can wrap your encrypted data inside a WebSocket connection delivered over TLS on port 443. To a DPI firewall, this looks identical to ordinary HTTPS web traffic to a CDN. There is no signature to block.
- Domain Fronting Support — Advanced configurations can route traffic through legitimate CDN providers, making it nearly impossible to block without also blocking major cloud infrastructure.
What Is Xray?
Xray is a fork of V2Ray that introduced several performance and security improvements, including the XTLS extension which eliminates redundant encryption layers for significantly faster speeds. Redgate’s infrastructure supports both V2Ray and Xray clients, and we continuously update our server-side configuration to take advantage of the latest improvements from both projects.
Do I Need to Configure Anything?
No. Redgate handles all the protocol configuration automatically. When you install the app and connect, it selects the best available protocol and transport layer for your current network conditions. You do not need to know anything about VMess, VLESS, or WebSocket to use Redgate effectively.
Advanced users who want to use their own V2Ray client can find their subscription link on the V2RayNG subscription page after logging in.
