A collection of newer network components, such as terminals, gateways, gatekeepers, and multipoint control units (MCU) that interoperate with other standards-compliant endpoints and networks by virtue of an H.323 gateway. The collection of all these network components, which are managed by a single Gatekeeper, is referred to as an H.323 Zone. A zone includes at least one terminal, and can include gateways or multipoint control units (MCUs), or LAN segments connected using routers. A zone has only one gatekeeper.