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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Network address translation (NAT) maps IP addresses between networks so packets can travel across their boundary. A NAT gateway changes addressing information as traffic passes through it and uses mappings to direct replies to the right device. In many home and small-office networks, network address and port translation (NAPT) lets multiple devices share one externally assigned IPv4 address.
What network address translation means
The Internet Engineering Task Force defines NAT as “a method by which IP addresses are mapped from one address realm to another, providing transparent routing to end hosts.” The definition appears in RFC 2663, an Informational RFC published in August 1999. In practical terms, the gateway substitutes network addressing on packets crossing between address realms and keeps track of the mapping needed for replies.
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How NAT works
- A device sends a packet from its local network toward an external destination.
- The gateway associates the internal endpoint with an external address. If it is using NAPT, it also maps a transport identifier, such as a TCP or UDP port.
- The gateway updates the packet’s addressing information and forwards it.
- When a reply arrives, the gateway looks up the mapping, translates the destination information back, and forwards the packet to the original internal device.
Mappings may be configured in advance or created dynamically when a session begins. RFC 2663 describes dynamic bindings being looked up for later packets and removed when no longer needed.
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Basic NAT and NAPT are different
Basic NAT translates IP addresses. NAPT translates IP addresses and transport-port combinations, allowing several internal endpoints to use one external address at the same time by assigning distinct translated identifiers. RFC 3022 describes NAPT as translating many network addresses and their TCP/UDP ports into a single network address and its TCP/UDP ports.
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| Type | What it translates | Typical implication |
|---|---|---|
| Basic NAT | IP addresses | Maps addresses from one realm to another; it does not, by definition, perform the port sharing associated with NAPT. |
| NAPT | IP addresses and transport identifiers such as TCP or UDP ports | Multiple internal endpoints can share one external IP address through distinct mappings. |
NAPT is common in home and small-office IPv4 networks. It is more precise to say that devices share an external address through NAPT than to treat “NAT” and “NAPT” as identical terms.
Does NAT allow incoming connections?
Traditional NAT generally lets an internal host initiate a session to an external host. An unsolicited connection initiated from outside typically needs a static mapping or other explicit configuration that tells the gateway which internal endpoint should receive it. The exact behavior varies with the NAT type and deployment; NAT configurations do not all handle sessions identically. See RFC 2663 and RFC 3022.
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What NAT does not do
NAT is not the same as a firewall
NAT changes addressing and supports packet forwarding; it is not, by itself, a complete security guarantee. Routers and firewalls are common places for NAT to be performed, but translation and traffic-filtering policies are distinct functions. NIST’s Network Address Translation glossary entry identifies the function without making address translation a substitute for security controls.
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An application may include IP addresses inside its own protocol data. Changing the IP header does not automatically rewrite those embedded addresses, so some such applications can have compatibility problems across NAT. Application-layer gateways can handle some protocols, as discussed in RFC 2663; this is a possible limitation, not a claim that NAT breaks every affected application.
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IPv4 and IPv6 should not be conflated
RFC 2663 explicitly describes NAT in an IPv4 environment. Its definition and examples should not, on their own, be treated as a general account of IPv6 address translation.
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In brief
- NAT maps IP addresses between address realms so packets can be routed across networks.
- Basic NAT changes addresses; NAPT also translates transport identifiers such as ports.
- NAPT can let multiple internal devices share one external IPv4 address.
- Inbound access to an internal service commonly requires an explicit mapping.
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