# Network Access Gateway (NAG)

The Circular architecture includes a Network Access Gateway (NAG) role intended to facilitate transaction ingestion and initial routing across the network. A NAG can accept a submitted transaction and forward it to an appropriate node (or subnet) using a simple routing policy designed to support throughput and load distribution.

Routing policies may incorporate publicly observable network conditions (for example, congestion or capacity signals) to avoid concentrating traffic and to improve overall efficiency. The specific routing policy and any associated incentives are implementation-dependent and may evolve over time.

NAG implementations are intended to be open source and permissionless, so that independent third parties can deploy compatible gateways without requiring centralized authorization. The protocol may include incentives for transaction ingress and routing, subject to network governance and implementation.
