When a gateway receives a packet, it translates the protocol, and the router directs it to the next router. Sometimes, a network may use routers both as end-point and access-point, in this case, the router becomes a gateway.Ī gateway often works with a router and a switch to complete the routing process. Gateway vs router: what is the similarityīoth routers and gateways are hardware components in a network that regulate traffic and determine its flow between two or more networks. If you'd like to gain much knowledge about routers, two helpful articles are provided for you here: Enterprise Router VS Home Router & Router Types. Besides, there are wireless and wired routers options available. And the enterprise router has more powerful functions than a home router such as VPN service and flash memory, etc. A home router connects to the modem and acts like a traffic director on your local network, which connects your devices via WiFi signal or Ethernet, tunneling information between them and out to the modem. Only when the host communicates with devices outside this network segment, all packets need to be sent to the gateway device and then forwarded through the processing protocol of the gateway device.įigure 1: powerful security provided via gatewayĪ router is a switching device that is responsible for receiving, analyzing and forwarding the data packets from the network to connected computers. When communication is carried out within the same network segment, there is no need to involve the gateway. Gateways exist in routers, switches, or PCs. In other words, gateways can join different systems. If two networks with different protocols want to be connected to each other, both networks need to have gateways that provide a point of presence and entry for computers from both networks to communicate. It connects the computers of one network to another and defines the boundaries of the network. Let's find the answers in this article that discussed router and gateway and their major differences.Īs the name implies, a gateway is a network entity, also known as a protocol converter. However, you also need to get a general idea about the differences between gateway and router from now on. They are seen as synonyms all the time and do have something in common here. Gateway and router are two confusable terms that often come up in the topic of networking and communication devices.

Explain router vs modem