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The IP address of the router that has a connection to other networks. The default gateway address is used when the host computer you are trying to contact exists on another network.

User Benny K
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Final answer:

The default gateway is a router that routes data from a local network to other networks, which is essential for internet connectivity and communication between different networks.

Step-by-step explanation:

The default gateway in a network is the router or networking device that provides the access point for hosts to communicate with devices on other networks. When a computer or any other device on a local network wishes to communicate with a device that is not on the same local network, it sends the data to the default gateway.

The default gateway then transfers, or routes, the data to the intended destination across different networks, including the internet.

For example, if your computer is assigned an IP address of 192.168.1.5 within a local network, and you want to visit a website with an IP address of 8.8.8.8, your computer will send the traffic to the default gateway because 8.8.8.8 lies outside your local network.

The default gateway often has a unique IP address within the local network, such as 192.168.1.1, and is commonly set in the network settings of your devices either manually or automatically via DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol).

This configuration is fundamental to ensuring proper data transmission between different IP networks and is a vital component of the TCP/IP model, which is the basic communication language or protocol of the internet.

User Tamas Koos
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