Gateways provide functional bridges between networks by receiving protocol transactions on a layer-by-layer basis from one protocol (SNA) and transforming them into comparable functions for the other protocol (OSI). In short, the gateway provides a connection with protocol translation between networks that use different protocols. Interestingly enough, gateways, unlike the bridge, do not require that the networks have consistent addressing schemes and packet frame sizes. Most proprietary gateways (such as IBM SNA gateways) provide protocol converter functions up through layer six of the OSI, while OSI gateways perform protocol translations up through OSI layer seven. See OSI Model.