Network Address Translation (NAT, also known as network masquerading or IP masquerading)
rewrites the source and/or destination addresses/ports of IP packets as they pass through a router
or firewall. It is most commonly used to connect multiple computers to the Internet (or any other
IP network) by using one IP address. This allows home users and small businesses to cheaply and
efficiently connect their network to the Internet.
The basic purpose of NAT is to multiplex traffic from the internal network and present it to
the Internet as if it was coming from a single computer having only one IP address. The Mediatrix
unit’s NAT service allows the dynamic creation and configuration of network address translation
rules. Depending on some criteria, the packet matching the rule may see its source or destination
address modified.
There are two types of NAT rules:
- Source rules: They are applied on the source address of outgoing packets.
- Destination rules: They are applied on the destination address of incoming packets.
A rule's priority is determined by its index in the Source NAT or Destination NAT tables
(Network/NAT). If the NAT service is stopped, this tab is greyed out and the parameters are not
displayed.
The maximum number of rules allowed in the configuration is 10 of each Source NAT and
Destination NAT.