Gateway

A Gateway refers to a combination of hardware and software
that links up two networks that use different communications protocols, data formatting
structures, languages or architecture. For example, you could have a Gateway connecting a
Microsoft Mail network to an SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) for transmission over
the Net. Or you could connect your NT Server to an SNA (System Network Architecture)
system.

How the Gateways work

As soon as packets arrive at the Gateway, the software strips all networking information
from the packet, leaving only the raw data. The Gateway now translates the data into a new
format to match the requirements of the destination system. The format is changed to
conform to the application program at the receiving end.

Usually, Gateways perform protocol conversion at the
Application layer. However, some Gateways use all the seven layers of the OSI (Open System
Interconnection) model.

Connecting personal computers to mainframes

Gateways translate between personal computers and mainframe environments. In a LAN
environment, usually one computer is designated as the Gateway. The mainframe is accessed
by the special application programs in the desktop computers by communicating with the
mainframe environment through the Gateway computer. The users access the resources on the
mainframe as if it is on their desktop computers.

Gateways and bandwidth

The Gateways perform resource intensive tasks like protocol conversion. This can eat away
much of a server’s available bandwidth. Usually, Gateways are dedicated servers on a
network.

Gateways and the Internet

On the Internet, the network consists of Gateway nodes and host nodes.The host nodes are
computers of network users and the computers that serve content.The Gateway nodes are the
computers that control traffic within your company's network or at your local Internet
service provider.

Advantages of Gateways

•They can connect entirely different systems.

•They are totally dedicated to one task and perform that task efficiently.

Disadvantages of Gateways

•They are task-specific

•They are expensive

•They are difficult to install and configure

•They have greater processing requirements, which means that they are slower than
other devices.

Improving Network Security

Learn how to improve
network security by means of secure Gateways or firewalls.

Anti-Virus Gateways

Anti-Virus
Gateways stop nasty viruses in their tracks.

NETMail Dialup e-Mail Gateway

NETMail offers email collection
from multiple POP accounts, intelligent routing of collected messages and much more.

Mailto 1.6

Mailto is a Mail gateway
conforming to the CGI specifications.

Pop@GIFT

Pop@GIFT is a Gateway
system that provides low cost Internet connections to be leveraged for organization wide
Internet E-mail.