What is Gateway in Networking?
In this tutorial, we are going to see What is Gateway in Networking?
An application gateway is a hardware and software system that connects two networks to interface between different network protocols.
When a remote user contacts such a device, the device examines the request and, if it matches the rules that the network administrator has defined, the gateway creates a link between the two networks. The information is therefore not directly transmitted but translated to ensure the continuity of both protocols.
This system offers, in addition to the interface between two heterogeneous networks, an additional security because each piece of information is examined (which can cause a slowdown) and sometimes added to a log that traces the history of events.
The major disadvantage of this system is that such an application must be available for each service (FTP, HTTP, Telnet, etc).
Conclusion:
So, a gateway is a device that connects two different computer networks, such as a local network and the Internet. Thus, several computers or the entire local network can access the Internet through the gateway. Most often, it also serves as a firewall, which allows controlling all data transfers between the local and the outside world.
It should not be confused with a bridge (layer 2) or a router (layer 3).
Router: Its job is to limit the broadcast domains and determine the next network node to which a data packet must be sent so that it reaches its final destination. This process, called routing, takes place at layer 3 (network layer) of the OSI model.