What is a network gateway?
Connecting two networks remotely takes a lot more than it seems at first glance. For that, gateways exist — they’re portals facilitating communication between two networks. Network gateways translate traffic between two protocols and permit data sharing among different computers.
It’s an important piece of technology enabling corporate local area connections to the public internet and vice versa. Internally, organizations may use different protocols from the ones used publicly for security, so they can’t connect directly as they need a translator. Therefore, a deployed gateway reorganizes the traffic to be understandable for the receiver and makes online communication possible.
Key takeaways
- Network gateways enable seamless communication and data sharing between different networks by translating protocols.
- They are essential for connecting corporate LANs to the public internet and ensuring data security.
- Network gateways offer security features, multi-protocol support, visibility, and analytics capabilities.
- Use cases include facilitating device connectivity, supporting IoT communication, enabling cloud storage, and ensuring seamless application access.
- Network gateways differ from routers, firewalls, switches, and bridges in their functions and applications.
- They are crucial in enhancing network security, visibility, and analytics.
- Additional security tools can be combined with network gateways for enhanced protection against online threats.
Network gateway definition
A network gateway connects and translates data between two different networks, acting as a translator for incompatible protocols. This makes communication possible between distinct systems, like a corporate network and the internet.
How does a network gateway work?
The network gateway is a go-between for different networks, enabling to exchange of data. As a network entry and exit point, it directs the data along the right paths, similar to how a router works.
Each network gateway connects two networks by translating protocols, allowing them to communicate and exchange data. Inside a network, a router, node, or server can act as a gateway. It can be implemented as hardware or software but is always located at the network’s edge.
In larger organizations, servers are one of the most frequently used gateway types, as they can simultaneously handle huge amounts of incoming connections.
Gateways are also a popular way to secure access to an organization’s network. For this reason, they are often combined with additional security tools like firewalls. Most routers are gateways with built-in firewalls and other security features to control open systems interconnection.
Network gateway features and capabilities
Although the technology isn’t that novel, it’s still widely used to make connectivity possible. Its application includes everything from cloud storage gateway security to proxy server management. Here are the most important features and capabilities of network gateways.
Security
Gateways function as the main portal for entering an enterprise’s network, and they are the first frontier of security. They will be the go-to location for deploying various cybersecurity technologies, like firewalls. Even their cloud counterparts, secure internet gateways, retain the same core functionality, ensuring a level of security when converting network protocols.
Multiprotocol
Most gateways are fluent in a variety of network protocols, so they can effortlessly communicate with various devices and systems. Due to this capability, gateways are flexible enough to provide good interconnectivity while retaining the needed high-security standard—whether via a wireless gateway or over the WAN.
Visibility
As the main entry into the network, the gateway is also useful for monitoring. Every connected device can be tracked, which can be very helpful for network administrators overseeing large networks with many unmanaged devices. The network gateway helps to bring more order into the network and protect it from cyber threats.
Analytics
As a side effect, every device connecting in and out leaves a lot of data and logs behind. This can be applied to study various patterns of how the users act on the network. For cybersecurity teams, this data is invaluable as it can help build a predictive model and track deviations, which usually occur when the network is breached. So, harnessing network gateway analytics is one of the key things from which to benefit.
Network gateway use cases
The primary function of a network gateway is enabling cross-network connectivity. Usually, it’s its sole function. However, due to its role as the gatekeeper, a network gateway is frequently combined with various additional features, however, you shouldn’t expect all of them to be included by default.
Connectivity facilitation
Laptops and other portable devices use network interface cards that interact with various gateways they encounter. It’s one of the founding technologies that allows internet service and seamless data sharing.
Internet of Things (IoT)
IoT devices rely on a wide variety of protocols for communication. As they vary greatly regarding used protocols and processing capabilities, the network gateway enables them to function on the same network layer. This allows IoT devices to be connected to cloud networks and user applications.
Cloud storage
You may not realize this, but storing files in the cloud isn’t possible without a secure web gateway. Storage service API must be converted into block-based storage protocols or file storage interfaces that multi-cloud applications need. All of these conversions will happen through a secure web gateway.
Application access
Some applications may need specialized pathways to ensure seamless connectivity. A secure web gateway must ensure that other business digital assets function as intended. Whether you’re accessing a local network or a cloud network, in both examples, the network gateway is the component that makes it work.
Cellular access
Cellular gateways enable 4G or 5G data access, which can be used as a primary internet connection. These gateways make cellular data compatible with local networks.
Wireless access
A wireless gateway is the combined modem/router you typically get from your internet provider. It connects your home or business network to the internet and allows devices to access it wirelessly via Wi-Fi.
Voice over IP (VoIP)
A VoIP gateway converts traditional analog phone and fax signals into digital VoIP signals so they can work over the internet.
LAN or WAN access to the internet
LAN (Local Area Network) access refers to devices on a local network, like your home or office, connecting to the internet through the gateway. On the other hand, WAN (Wide Area Network) access refers to the gateway's connection between the local network and the broader internet (WAN). The gateway bridges the two, allowing devices in the LAN to communicate with the internet (WAN).
Media gateways
A media gateway converts data between different formats when moving between different networks.
Email security gateways
An email security gateway blocks any emails that break company policies or contain malicious content, preventing them from being sent or received.
Network gateway vs. router
While routers and gateways carry traffic between networks, their functions differ. Routers can indeed perform some of the functions of gateways, but the use cases will ultimately be very different.
A router only focuses on directing packages to the correct pact. Meanwhile, the network gateway converts protocols into others at the edge of the network perimeter. A network boundary splits the protocol into its version that would be understandable within the internal network.
Network gateway vs. firewall
While they’re frequently combined, network gateways and firewalls have nothing else in common. While network gateways transit traffic between the networks, firewalls are network filters with rulesets to allow or deny specific connections.
This is one reason it’s so frequently bundled into one unit. Since all connections must go through the web gateway, it only makes sense to set up a traffic filter on the destination all the connections will be going through.
Network gateway vs. switch
Although they may sound like they perform very similar functions, network gateways, and switches do entirely different things. While the network gateway connects multiple networks, a switch allows networked devices to talk to each other. That’s why the gateway is a checkpoint where connections end up before being routed. Meanwhile, the switch receives information from a source and routes the connection to its intended destination with MAC addresses.
Network gateway vs. bridge
Network gateways and bridges are similar because they are designed to connect two different networks. However, while network gateways can translate protocols into one that is understandable on the network, bridges only connect identical protocols. They could link up two LAN networks, assuming they use the same protocols.
Summary
Network gateways are incredibly useful when joining two networks together. They facilitate the exchange process, making it unnoticeable to a casual user. They also have additional uses for increasing network security, visibility, and analytics. However, it’s important to emphasize that these additions may not always come with your network gateway setup by default.
The central portal of entry into the organization’s network gateway can also be supplemented with additional tools and software to make your entry better prepared against various online threats.