An application-level gateway (ALG) is a tool or software program program that gives a safe and environment friendly approach to join functions to a community. ALGs function on the utility layer of the OSI mannequin, which is the very best layer of the mannequin and is chargeable for offering application-specific performance. This permits ALGs to know the precise wants of every utility and to supply the mandatory providers to assist these wants.
ALGs are sometimes used to supply safety, load balancing, and protocol translation providers. Safety features supplied by ALGs embody firewall safety, intrusion detection, and encryption. Load balancing options supplied by ALGs embody the flexibility to distribute site visitors throughout a number of servers and to supply failover assist. Protocol translation options supplied by ALGs embody the flexibility to transform between completely different community protocols, similar to TCP and UDP.
