A home or residential gateway (also home gateway), is a home network device used as a gateway to connect home devices to the Internet or another WAN.
It is a broad term that includes multiple devices used in the home that can be: a DSL or cable modem, a network switch, a router, a wireless access point, etc. In the past, these functions were provided by different devices, but due to technological convergence, they are often merged into a single device.
There are multiple devices that can be described as «residential gateways», each with different functions. Each type of device allows the connection of a LAN (used in the home) to a WAN. The WAN may be the Internet or perhaps a larger LAN of which the household is a part (for example, a municipal WAN that provides connectivity to its residents). WAN connectivity can be provided through DSL, cable modem, mobile network, or other connections.
The term «residential gateway» was originally used to distinguish inexpensive network devices designed for use in the home from business devices. Although currently the differences between these devices are not too many, due to technological advances.
Therefore, the term «residential gateway» is becoming obsolete and only applies to low-cost, low-capacity network devices.
Devices that can be considered residential gateways
* cable modem
* DSL modem
* Router or Wireless Router
* switch
*VoIP ATA
* Wireless access point
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