are not offering the level of configurability and flexibility of a universal gateway. New markets Special classes of universal gateway are addressing special needs. The Smart Grid is now prompting a new class of application where plant floor equipment is tied to electric utilities for the purpose of Demand and Response Control over power use. There are a wide variety of "Smart Grid" protocols that need to be connected to Automation Protocols via bridging software. These universal gateways typically support both wired and wireless connectivity. See also Host adapter Protocol converter Classes of computers Computer networking Automation software Industrial equipment