If you ask the average user what a network gateway is, then in most cases you can’t hear an answer. Sometimes the situation is simply paradoxical: a person has a local network of several computers, switches (or even hubs) are used; there is a machine on which the server functions are assigned, and sometimes some parts of the local network are implemented using radio frequencies (Bluetooth or Wi-Fi). At the same time, the term “main gateway” remains without due attention. You can be sure: now such confusing solutions are often found among ordinary home users, and not just in offices and enterprises. Note that it is still quite realistic to organize such a network without delving into what the main gateway is. The reason for this is simple - gateways are not for sale in stores. There are routers, switches, other network equipment, but for some reason there are no gateways.
Let's dot the “I” and finally figure out what is meant by the definition of “primary gateway”. As an example, let us take advantage of a common situation when a home user connects to the global Internet network using ADSL technology over existing telephone lines. Pairing the modem with a computer, as is now fashionable, is done via Wi-Fi. Connection to the provider's network is implemented by the usual twisted pair cable. In other words, the scheme is as follows: the computer-modem section uses one protocol for data transfer, for example, 802.11g; and after the modem, Ethernet follows with completely different protocols. Further, over the provider's network, twisted pair cable is usually supplied to specialized equipment and then goes along optical lines. Obviously, the user’s modem converts Wi-Fi data packets to Ethernet. This is what the network gateway does. So, a gateway is a network device that converts data packets from one protocol to another (similar to a translator): radio waves - wire, local - global network, etc. A software solution can also be used when the conversion is performed on a computer.
To see the gateway, you can go to the computer hardware store and ask to show the hardware router. At the same time, the classic router distributes network packets only within the framework of one protocol. If at least at one stage conversion (pairing) is performed, then we are talking about a gateway. For example, a node that provides access to a global network of computers on a local network is a network gateway. For example, this is a node that provides the ability to exit all client computers on the local network to the global one.
In turn, the main gateway - this is the device to which the computer sends packets. Since there can be several exits to the global network in the local network, for example, the administrator manually indicates to the equipment which node is the main one. It can be said that the default gateway is thus defined. If in a special way the equipment is not indicated on which IP address to send packets (and receive them), then work will occur with the main gateway. An important peculiarity must be taken into account: in the above example with an ADSL modem, the network interface of the computer does not directly “see” the IP address of the provider, but works with the modem's internal address (actually an intermediary). If you need to determine the gateway address of the provider, you will need to contact technical support. Usually this information is publicly available. Well, of course, there is an alternative way of determining - you need to connect an Ethernet cable directly to a computer network card without an intermediate device. Thus, in the Windows system, you can find out the gateway address (do not confuse the addresses of your router and the equipment of the provider) by executing the ipconfig / all command . To do this, it is convenient to create a .bat file with the following contents:
ipconfig / all
pause
and execute it.