Network Address Translation (NAT)
Network address translation (NAT) is a method of mapping an IP address space into another by modifying network address information in the IP header of packets.
Translation Process:
When a device from the internal network wants to access the internet, the router uses NAT to:
- Replace the private IP address of the local device with its own public IP address in outgoing packets
- Track which internal IP and port the request came from
- When a response comes back, the router checks its NAT table, replaces the public IP back with the corresponding private IP, and forwards the packet to the correct device