Router -versus- Gateway

Basic Router Questions:

1) Is a router technically performing gateway services when used to connect to dissimilar protocols (e.g. TCP/IP -to- IPX/SPX)?

2) Do all routers provide this functionality?

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Comments

Forsaken_GA

well, for the first, that depends on who you ask, it's a matter of semantics. in general terms, a gateway connects two seperate networks, whether those networks are the same protocol.

as for the second, of course not. Alot of vendors have removed support for obsolete protocols.

chmorin

I never used gateway as a term until I entered voice studies, and there is probably a reason for that.

wastedtime

Not even "default gateway"? But, your right it isn't common that you will hear someone refer to it as a gateway.

alan2308

The term gateway was originally used to describe a device to facilitate communication between devices with different protocol stacks. Cisco's first product was a device like this that the original founders designed out of need.

Today, however, the only ways I hear the term used is "default gateway" or "gateway of last resort," both referring to a specific router.

chmorin

alan2308 wrote: »

The term gateway was originally used to describe a device to facilitate communication between devices with different protocol stacks. Cisco's first product was a device like this that the original founders designed out of need.

Today, however, the only ways I hear the term used is "default gateway" or "gateway of last resort," both referring to a specific router.

Yup, that is pretty much only where you hear it in the data world.

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