NETWORK ADDRESS TRANSLATION (NAT)

Network address translation (NAT) allows a site to use a

set of private addresses for internal communication and a
set of global Internet addresses for communication with
another site. The site must have only one single
connection to the global Internet through a router that
runs NAT software.
The topics discussed in this section include:
Address Translation
Translation Table
NAT and ISP

NAT

Address translation

Translation

Table 26.2 FiveFive-column translation table

How NAT Table is Created

On the Fly
When an outgoing packet is received, an entry is made in the
table if one does not exist already
Remove entry after an idle timeout ( 2-3 minutes )

Other Types of NATs

The one used in the industry uses port mapping
NAPT Network Address Port Translation

NAPT includes additional fields

Besides a pair of source and destination IP addresses, the
mapping table contains a pair of source and destination
protocol numbers and protocol port number used by the NAT
box.

NAPT mapping Table

Private
Address
10.0.0.5

Private
Port
21032

External External
Address
Port
128.6.9.20 80

NAT Port
12001

10.0.0.1

12386

128.6.9.20 80

12003

10.0.2.6

21032

128.10.19. 21
8

12010

For the first TCP connection, the identifier is:

Before Translation: (10.0.0.5, 21023, 128.6.9.20, 80)
After NAT Translation: (G, 12001, 128.6.9.20, 80)

Side Effects of NAT

NAT box needs access to IP data area
Thats where TCP/UDP port numbers are

Some applications (e.g. FTP) send port numbers in

data area on TCP Packet.
To support such applications NAT needs access
and analyze TCP data area and may have to
increase or decrease TCP Packet size.
TCP will not work if sequence number is not
adjusted when packet size is changed ( knowledge
of TCP is pre requisite to understand this ! )
NATs which support FTP are therefore very
complex.

An ISP and NAT

Next Generation: IPv6

Objectives
Upon completion you will be able to:
Understand the shortcomings of IPv4
Know the IPv6 address format, address types, and
abbreviations
Be familiar with the IPv6 header format

IPv6
IPv6 has these advantages over IPv4:
1. larger address space
2. better header format
3. new options
4. allowance for extension
5. support for resource allocation
6. support for more security

IPV6
Even with careful assignment and NAT
technology, the current 32 bit IP address space
cannot accommodate projected growth of the
internet beyond 2020
128 bit address (instead of 32)
Hexadecimal colon notation (instead of decimal)

IPv6 address
The dotted decimal colon notation used for IPv4 does
not make addressing compact for IPv6
104.230.140.100.255.255.255.255.0.0.17.128.150.10.255.255

It requires fewer digits and fewer separators than dotted

decimal notation

Abbreviated address

Abbreviated address with consecutive zeros

It can be applied only once in any address

CIDR address

Type of Addresses
Unicast Addresses
Anycast Addresses
Multicast Addresses

Address structure

Type prefixes for IPv6 addresses

10

Provider-based address

Address hierarchy

11

Unspecified address

Loopback address

12

Compatible address

Mapped address

13

IPv6 datagram

Summary
Original Address Structure
Subnetting
Combating Address Depletion Problem
Dynamic Address Allocation
CIDR, NAT, IPv6

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TRANSITION FROM IPv4 TO IPv6

Three strategies have been devised by the IETF to
provide for a smooth transition from IPv4 to IPv6.

The topics discussed in this section include:

Dual Stack
Tunneling
Header Translation

Three transition strategies

15

Dual stack

Automatic tunneling

16

Configured tunneling

Header translation

17

Reading Guidelines

Chapter 4, 5, 30 and 31
TCP/IP Protocol Suite, Second Edition,
Behrouz A. Forouzan

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