gateway

1. Any point that represents the beginning of a transition from one place or phase to another.Examples: "a gateway drug"; "Just as they say that marijuana leads to harder drugs, Gallegly is claiming that crush is a “gateway fetish”—a term I've never heard before. He claims that if someone starts with bugs they'll end up escalating to human babies in no time."; "According to Mellody, love addiction is a gateway addiction leading to additional addictions: to sex, food, drugs, alcohol, and so on."attributive

2. (computing, networking, telecommunications) In wireless internet, an access point with additional software capabilities such as providing NAT and DHCP, which may also provide VPN support, roaming, firewalls, various levels of security, etc.