| | | | A software or hardware device that acts to bridge two or more networks and acts as an "entrance", allowing information to be shared between computers. Strictly, it means a hardware or software device forming a node (a "processing location" such as a PC or printer that has a unique MAC address) in a network, that connects two networks using either different protocols or different applications, however it can also refer to a device linking two similar networks in which case it acts simply as an entrance or exit point. In the former case, it converts data packets from one protocal to another and in the latter it allows the connecting networks to share information by converting data and/or commands between different formats. In general usage however, the term has come to mean any system that allows access to another. A common example of the use of a gateway in the home is an ISP connecting the user to the internet. When accessing a website from a PC data may pass through a large number of gateways in the processs. A gateway may be combined with a router and/or a switch within the same hardware device, which may be relatively inexpensive, particularly in devices intended for home use and small business networks. In the case of enterprise level business applications, it may take the form of a server acting as a gateway/node and also as a firewall and proxy server. This term used to be used to describe a router but is now obsolete in that sense. | | | |
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