# Glossary - GateLLM

> Definitions of GateLLM coined terms and their industry-standard equivalents: capability normalization, Composition, multi-model consensus, Token Ops, Token FinOps, BYOK.

Canonical: https://www.gatellm.io/glossary/

## Glossary
GateLLM's differentiation rests on a few coined terms — here are precise definitions and their industry-standard equivalents, for comprehension, citation, and migration.
### Capability normalization
unifies 7 coupling points
Unifies the seven cross-vendor coupling points (tool calling, structured output, prompt cache, reasoning tokens, multimodal, billing, error semantics) behind one interface. This is the prerequisite for mixing models across vendors — otherwise each model has its own calling convention and every switch requires glue code.
### Composition
tiered model routing
Routing different request phases to different models at the gateway — identity-scoped model mapping plus plan-mode switching. The canonical pattern: a top-tier closed model (e.g. Claude Opus) plans while open SOTA models (GLM / Qwen / DeepSeek) execute — ~14% cost for ~97% capability. Configured in the console (rules + scripts), zero client-code change.
### Multi-Model Consensus
Ensemble
An orchestration-layer pattern — running the same prompt through several models in parallel and merging the results. The fan-out, dedupe, and confidence annotation live in your orchestration layer (e.g. GitHub Actions); the gateway supplies protocol interop and unified metering, so any model joins and all traffic stays centrally governed. Suited for high-stakes calls such as code review. The shipped flavor of this pattern is multi-model code review (see the orchestration section).
### Token Ops
LLM observability + access governance
The usage-side operating layer for LLM APIs — observability, client admission, audit trails, and programmatic management. It answers "who is using what, how much, and can they get in"; Token FinOps (its counterpart) answers "how tokens become money, who it is charged to, and what stops it". GateLLM integrates these into the gateway — never a per-token markup.
### Token FinOps
FinOps for AI / token cost allocation
The financial control layer that applies FinOps visibility, allocation, and governance to token spend: a self-owned rate card turns tokens into money, tags land spend on the right cost center, and daily / monthly cost quotas turn budgets into request-blocking gates. Complements Token Ops — the former sees usage, this one sees money.
### BYOK
Bring Your Own Key
You bring your own model-vendor API keys. Keys live in gateway memory only — never persisted or transmitted; requests route through the gateway straight to vendor APIs. GateLLM takes no cut.

## Related
- [Home](https://www.gatellm.io/index.md)
- [Pricing](https://www.gatellm.io/pricing.md)
- [Cost Calculator](https://www.gatellm.io/calculator.md)
- [About](https://www.gatellm.io/about.md)
- [Book a Demo](https://www.gatellm.io/demo.md)
- [FAQ](https://www.gatellm.io/faq.md)
- [Compare AI Gateways](https://www.gatellm.io/compare.md)
- [Compare LiteLLM](https://www.gatellm.io/compare/litellm.md)
- [Compare OpenRouter](https://www.gatellm.io/compare/openrouter.md)
- [Compare Alibaba Cloud AI Gateway](https://www.gatellm.io/compare/alibaba-cloud.md)
- [Compare Azure API Management](https://www.gatellm.io/compare/azure-apim.md)
- [Compare Apigee](https://www.gatellm.io/compare/apigee.md)
- [Compare Cloudflare AI Gateway](https://www.gatellm.io/compare/cloudflare.md)
- [Compare Kong AI Gateway](https://www.gatellm.io/compare/kong.md)
- [Compare Portkey](https://www.gatellm.io/compare/portkey.md)
- [LiteLLM vs Kong AI Gateway](https://www.gatellm.io/compare/litellm-vs-kong.md)
- [LiteLLM vs OpenRouter](https://www.gatellm.io/compare/litellm-vs-openrouter.md)
- [LiteLLM vs Portkey](https://www.gatellm.io/compare/litellm-vs-portkey.md)
- [Use Cases](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases.md)
- [Reduce LLM Cost](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/reduce-cost.md)
- [High Availability](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/high-availability.md)
- [Multi-Tenant Isolation](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/multi-tenant.md)
- [Compliance & Audit](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/compliance-audit.md)
- [Troubleshooting by Symptom](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/troubleshooting.md)
- [Mixed Multi-Vendor Model Stack](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/mixed-model-stack.md)
- [Self-Host AI Inside Office](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/self-hosted-office-ai.md)
- [Token Usage Visibility & Attribution](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/token-ops.md)
- [Token FinOps: AI Cost Allocation & Control](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/token-finops.md)
- [MCP Tool Governance](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/mcp-tool-governance.md)
- [Web Search for Every Model](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/web-search-grounding.md)
- [Multi-Key Rotation & Standby](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/multi-key-pooling.md)
- [Admission Control for Connected Clients](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/client-admission-control.md)
- [Enforce Which Model Agents Actually Run](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/enforce-model-policy.md)
- [No Model Choice on the Client](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/automatic-model-tiering.md)
- [One Protocol, Any Model](https://www.gatellm.io/use-cases/one-protocol-any-model.md)
- [Office / Microsoft 365 Add-in](https://www.gatellm.io/office-addin.md)
- [Model Catalog](https://www.gatellm.io/models.md)
- [SDK & Framework Integrations](https://www.gatellm.io/integrations.md)
- [AI Coding Agents & Harnesses](https://www.gatellm.io/coding-agents.md)
- [Security & Compliance](https://www.gatellm.io/security.md)
- [Privacy Policy](https://www.gatellm.io/privacy-policy.md)
- [Terms of Service](https://www.gatellm.io/terms.md)
- [Cookie Policy](https://www.gatellm.io/cookies.md)
- [Data Processing Agreement (DPA)](https://www.gatellm.io/dpa.md)
- [Sub-processor List](https://www.gatellm.io/subprocessors.md)
- [Security Questionnaire (CAIQ/SIG/VSA)](https://www.gatellm.io/trust.md)
- [Incident Response & Support](https://www.gatellm.io/sla.md)
- [Vulnerability Disclosure Policy](https://www.gatellm.io/vulnerability-disclosure.md)
- [Open Source License Notice](https://www.gatellm.io/open-source-licenses.md)
- [Version Support & Lifecycle (EOL)](https://www.gatellm.io/lifecycle.md)
- [Engineering Blog](https://www.gatellm.io/blog.md)
- [Your Agents Have More Permissions Than Your Employees: Governing MCP Tools at the Gateway](https://www.gatellm.io/blog/mcp-tool-governance.md)
- [The $10k Invoice Problem: Five Ways to Cut LLM Spend Without Dumbing Down Your App](https://www.gatellm.io/blog/reduce-cost.md)
- [Your Vendor's List Price Is Not Your Cost: Applying Real FinOps to Token Spend](https://www.gatellm.io/blog/token-finops.md)
- [llms.txt](https://www.gatellm.io/llms.txt)