Gateway

Gateway is a connection point in a network. Internet gateways connect various networks via different protocols. The gateway is usually a physical device, but there’s gateway software that can be configured to make a computer act as a gateway. In this way, the gateway computer is enabled to establish connections between networks. Personal computers, servers, and other devices can serve as Internet gateways, but most commonly routers take that function. A Gateway connection can be established on any network level via various protocols, but routers or switches don’t usually operate with more than one protocol and don’t have as many functions.