Published By - Kelsey Taylor

Gateway is a networking hardware or network node which connects the two disparate network to communicate with each other. Most common gateways are computer and router which can connect an enterprise to the internet.

A firewall is both hardware and software application which sets the rules as per which data packets are allowed to enter the network.

The functionality of both these networking systems are present in many devices, like that in router and that’s why people get confused between gateway and firewall.

Both gateway and firewall can be divided into their different types.

Types of Gateway

Unidirectional Gateways

Bidirectional Gateways

Types of Firewall

Packet filtering firewalls

Circuit-level gateways

Stateful inspection firewalls

Application-level gateways

Next-gen firewalls

Where does the difference between gateway and firewall lie?

Although, there is not much to differentiate between the two, to begin with the simplest difference lies in the fact that gateway is only hardware whereas firewall can be both, hardware as well as software.

Gateway only enables the transfer of packets whereas the firewall decides which data packets should pass through. It secures the network from internet hacking or spam traffic bots.

Also, the installation cost of a unidirectional gateway is generally a one-time cost which includes the setting up of the hardware and configuring some software components whereas firewall cost is more complex and there are some hidden costs in it like WSUS servers, interface nodes.

Let’s look into some of the benefits provided by the two.

Benefits of using Gateway:

Reduces cost and complexity.

It creates rich and useful user Interface

Easy to log the incoming traffic.

Benefits of using Firewall:

Protects the network from external threats.

It allows customizing the security protocols.

It allows us to block or un-block inappropriate or appropriate traffic.

Also Read: What does Endpoint Security Mean and Why is it Necessary?