A device that acts as an intermediate connection point in a network data stream. It terminates the session on one side and starts another on the other. To a Layer 2 network, a router is an example of a Gateway because it rewrites all of the MAC information in each frame received on one side before sending it to the other side. Similarly, special-purpose Gateway devices are capable of connecting different Layer 3 or higher protocols.
Gigabits per second. Equal to 1024 Megabits per second, or approximately one billion bits per second.
The 1000Mbps Standard for 802.3 Ethernet. Gigabit Ethernet has been implemented on several different physical media, including varieties of copper and fiber cabling.
See GMII.
Gigabit Media Independent Interface. A physical sublayer for Gigabit Ethernet that provides the ability to have a number of different possible physical media for a Gigabit Ethernet connection. See also AUI and MII.