Ops 301: Class 06

This topic matters as it relates to what I'm studying in this module because we are learning about how IP addresses work and function in many different ways.

• The main purpose for implementing NAT on a network is to allow devices on a private network with non-routable private IP addresses to communicate with devices on the Internet, which requires a public IP address. NAT allows multiple devices to share a single public IP address, providing a way for the private network to access the Internet while also adding an extra layer of security by hiding the private IP addresses from the Internet.

• NAT happens at the network layer (Layer 3) of the OSI model.

• When NAT runs out of addresses in the pool of available IPs, packets may be dropped or blocked by the router, resulting in communication failure. This can happen when the number of devices on the private network exceeds the number of available public IP addresses in the NAT pool.

• Disadvantages include; translation results in switching path delays, certain applications will not function while NAT is enabled, complicates tunneling protocols such as IPsec, also, the router being a network layer device, should not tamper with port numbers(transport layer) but it has to do so because of NAT.

Things I want to know more about are who uses Network Address Translation and why? Is there a reason they chose NAT specifically?

References

Network Address Translation (NAT) Geeks for geeks. Retrieved March 20, 2023 from NAT