I am a novice.

What is a Gateway?
---
Reg.

"Reg Edwards" <g4fgq.regp@ZZZbtinternet.com> wrote in message
news:dvmu9q$cl8$1@nwrdmz02.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...
Taken from http://www.adslguide.org.uk/howitworks/gateway.asp

The Home Gateway
The home gateway is the point at which all the L2TP tunnels are terminated -
after that it's TCP/IP traffic.

Home gateways come in various traffic sizes - the most common being 34Mbps
and 155Mbps. They also come in various "flavours" - ie you can have BT
Wholesale provide and manage the physical hardware or you can just have them
provide a data feed and your ISP provides and manages the hardware.

The 34Mbps gateways give the ISP no choice - the hardware is supplied and
managed by BTwholesale. The 34Mbps gateways support a maximum of 1600 users,
although "real-world" usage indicates that 1200 is a more sustainable
figure.

The 155Mbps gateways give the ISP a choice of whether they want to provide
and manage their own hardware. The product that allows them to provide and
manage their own hardware is called L2TP Passthrough and supports a maximum
of 8000 users - once again this is likely to prove unrealistic with some
ISPs already talking about a maximum of 4000 users being the limit. The BT
managed gateway supports a maximum of 6400 users.



From http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/equip2.htm

Home Gateway.

The tunnel endpoints on which PPP sessions from the Colossus Network are
terminated and where it joins the ISP Central Pipes is known as a home
gateway.

The Home Gateway is a cluster of LTS's (L2TP Tunnel Switches). The amount of
switches required depends upon the size and type of Central Pipe used by the
ISP - for example a 155 Mbps Central terminates on 2 LTS' whilst a 622 Mbps
pipe will terminate on 12 LTS'.

The test login bt_test_user@ispdomain.com is carried out at this level.

On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 19:03:22 UTC, "Reg Edwards"
<g4fgq.regp@ZZZbtinternet.com> wrote:

A machine through which traffic passes in order to reach other parts of
a network, or other networks.

They come at various points on the Internet. The most likely kind of
gateway that you would need to know about is the 'gateway' host on your
own network - even if you have just a single PC. This would be the host
that contains your ADSL modem, be it a PC or the separate ADSL router
box. Sometimes, documentation asks you to give a gateway address, and
typically that's it.

However, there are gateways at lots of other points; e.g. at the
junction between the BT network and your ISP.

So, if you can tell us where you encountered the term, there might be a
bit more information..

--
[ 7'ism - a condition by which the sufferer experiences an inability
to give concise answers, express reasoned argument or opinion.
Usually accompanied by silly noises and gestures - incurable, early
euthanasia recommended. ]

Thanks for the replies.

Is there a general pictorial chart somewhere which shows how gateways
fit into the network as a whole?

A chart showing how traffic flows?
---
Reg

"Reg Edwards" <g4fgq.regp@ZZZbtinternet.com> wrote in message
news:dvnaq7$iaa$1@nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...
http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/equip.htm

http://www.adslguide.org.uk/howitworks/

On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 22:36:55 UTC, "Reg Edwards"
<g4fgq.regp@ZZZbtinternet.com> wrote:

I think you need to tell us the context. Nicola has concentrated on ADSL
gateways (which you wouldn't actually have in your home) and I have
concentrated on a more general (yet also more specific!) definition.

Both are correct, but I might be clouding the issue with my definition,
or Nicola might be clouding it with hers.

Please tell us the context in which your query is being made.

--
[ 7'ism - a condition by which the sufferer experiences an inability
to give concise answers, express reasoned argument or opinion.
Usually accompanied by silly noises and gestures - incurable, early
euthanasia recommended. ]

"Nicola Redwood" <nicolaexternal-newsgroups@yahoo.com> wrote in
message news:dvnbn9$hdk$1@nwrdmz02.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...
------

Nicola and Bob,

I didn't know what I was looking for. But the charts, diagrams, and
accompanying descriptions in plain non-technical English are just what
I needed. Pictures are better than thousands of words!

Thank you both very much.
----
Reg.