What is the default gateway

If you ask the average user what a network gateway is, then in most cases the answer can not be heard. Sometimes the situation is simply paradoxical: a person has a local network of several computers, using switches (or even hubs); There is a machine on which the server functions are assigned, and sometimes some sections of the local network are realized by means of radio frequencies (Bluetooth or Wi-Fi). However, the term "main gateway" remains without due attention. You can not doubt: now such confusing solutions are often found in ordinary home users, and not just in offices and enterprises. Note that it is still possible to organize such a network, without going into what the default gateway is. The reason for this is trivial - in the stores the floodgates are not for sale. There are routers, switches, other network equipment, but for some reason there is no gateway.

Let's dot the "I" and understand, finally, what is meant by the definition of "the main gateway". As an example, let's take advantage of the prevailing situation when a home user connects to the global Internet using ADSL technology over existing telephone lines. Pairing the modem with a computer, as it is now fashionable, is done via Wi-Fi. Connection with the provider's network is realized by the usual twisted pair. In other words, the scheme is as follows: the computer-modem section uses one protocol for data transmission, for example, 802.11g; And after the modem is already Ethernet with completely different protocols. Further, over a network of the provider, the twisted pair is usually brought to the specialized equipment and then goes along the optical lines. Obviously, the modem of the user is converting Wi-Fi data packets to Ethernet. This is what a network gateway does. So, the gateway is a network device that converts data packets of one protocol to another (similar to an interpreter): radio waves - wire, local - global networks, etc. A software solution can also be used when converting on a computer.

To see the gateway, you can go to the computer shop and ask to see the hardware router. At the same time, the classic router distributes network packets only within the same protocol. If at least at one stage the conversion (pairing) is performed, then it is a gateway. For example, a node that provides the output of LAN computers to the global network is a network gateway. For example, this is a node that provides the ability to exit all client computers of the local network into a global one.

In turn, the default gateway is the device to which the computer ships packets. Since there can be several more exits to the global network, for example, the administrator manually specifies which node is the main node. You can say that this is how the default gateway is defined. In the event that in a special way the equipment does not specify which IP-address to send packets (and receive them), then the work will occur with the default gateway. It is necessary to take into account an important feature: in the above example with the ADSL modem, the network interface of the computer directly "does not see" the IP address of the provider, but works with the internal address of the modem (actually an intermediary). If you need to determine the address of the provider's gateway, you will need to contact the technical support. Usually this information is public. And, of course, there is an alternative way to determine - you need to connect an Ethernet cable directly to a computer network card without an intermediate device. Thus, in the Windows system, find out the gateway address (do not confuse the addresses of your router and the provider's equipment) by executing the ipconfig / all command . To do this, it is convenient to create a .bat file with the following content:

Ipconfig / all

Pause

And execute it.