Ethernet & Serial Gateways
A gateway is a hardware device that joins two networks so that devices on one network can communicate with devices on another network. It serves as an entry and exit point for a network as all data traffic passes through it before being routed.
Gateway vs Router Both gateways and routers are hardware devices in a network that monitor and control data traffic and determine its flow between networks. A gateway often works with a router to complete the routing process. Before arriving at the router, data packets go to the gateway first. The gateway checks the header information and makes sure there is no error in the destination IP address. It then carries out data and protocol conversion on the packet according to the destination network. The processed packet is forwarded to the router where it determines the best route to the final destination. A gateway is not necessary when communication is carried out within the same network. Only when communication occurs with devices outside the network do all packets need to be sent to the gateway for protocol processing.
Ethernet gateways are devices that allow protocol conversion to an EtherNet/IP network. In automated industrial or SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) systems, Ethernet gateways often facilitate connecting serial devices to an Ethernet network, allowing multiple connections and a conversion between fieldbus protocols such as Modbus or PROFIBUS (Process Filed Bus) to EtherNet/IP or PROFINET (Process Field Net).
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