Mastering Proxmox - Third Edition

Network Address Translation/Translator

Network Address Translation/Translator (NAT) is a method of remapping one IP address space into another by modifying the network address information in the IP datagram packet headers while they are in transit across a traffic routing device.

NAT secures a device by not directly exposing it to the internet or to a public network. It also allows more physical devices to be able to communicate without having individual public IPv4 addresses, which will cost money, and there is a limited supply of IP addresses on the internet. NAT is usually configured in the router or firewall of a network, where the policy is created for local-to-global and global-to-local IP address mapping.

NAT is relevant for IPv4 networks. ...