Gateway (Gateway) is also known as inter-network connector, protocol converter. Gateway in the network layer above the realization of network interconnection, is a complex network interconnection equipment, only for two high-level protocols are different network interconnection. Gateways can be used to interconnect both WANs and LANs. A gateway is a computer system or device that acts as a switching device.
Used between two systems with different communication protocols, data formats or languages, or even completely different architectures, a gateway is a translator. Unlike a bridge, which simply conveys information, a gateway repackages the information it receives to suit the needs of the destination system.
Expanded Information:
The default gateway plays an important role in a TCP network. It is usually a router that forwards packets on a TCP network to other networks, and can provide TCP hosts on the network with the default routes used by hosts communicating with other hosts on remote networks. It can provide TCP hosts on the network with a default route to use when communicating with other hosts on the remote network.
Default Gateway/Default Router Default Gateway/Default Router These terms have a two-level meaning, depending on the device function.
In both cases, the terms "router" and "gateway" are equivalent. For IP hosts, the default router/gateway is the address of the IP router used by the host to transmit datagrams outside the host's broadcast domain. For IP routers, the default router/gateway is the IP address of the router to which datagrams should be forwarded if no other router is known, and the gateway is currently considered to be an application layer protocol translation device.