The hardware and software combinations that connect devices running different native protocols are known as

Hardware and software combinations that connect devices running different native protocols are called gateways.

Protocols are the rule-sets themselves, not the connecting devices that translate between them.

Models, like the OSI model, are conceptual frameworks and not physical connectors.

Ports are connection points on a device, not the protocol-translating combination described.

A gateway performs conversion so systems with incompatible protocols can communicate.

An email gateway, for instance, links networks using different mail formats.