The router or communication node connecting an internal or local area network to the Internet or another type of wide-area network. Today, the term has taken on a slightly wider definition in which a gateway is dedicated to a specific functional service to provide an intermediary between two or more systems. For example, an LDAP master server (a server that provides authentication and directory services) in a multimode master setup is a gateway when more than one master server exists. Gateway is also the name of a successful computer and peripherals vendor operating mainly through online channels.

See Also: Internet; Network; Routers.