A default gateway allows devices on one network to communicate with devices on another network. For example, when a computer requests a Web page, the request goes through the default gateway before leaving the local area network (LAN) to reach the Internet.

Think of a default gateway as an intermediate device between the local network and the Internet. The default gateway transfers internal data to the Internet and back again.

All clients on a network point to a default gateway that routes their traffic. The default gateway device passes this traffic from the local subnet to devices on other subnets. The default gateway connects a local network to the Internet, although internal gateways are used in corporate networks for communication within a local network.

For example, the default gateway in a home network understands specific routes that need to be taken to move Internet requests from a computer on the network to the next device that can understand what needs to be done. From there, the same process occurs until the data reaches its destination.