NAT allows a router to represent an entire local area network (LAN) to the Internet as a single IP address.
Security Feature: By hiding the internal IP addresses of devices on a LAN, NAT adds a layer of security, making it more difficult for external entities to access internal devices.
Private IP Address Ranges: NAT enables the use of private IP address ranges for internal networks, including:
10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255
172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255
192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255
Functionality: When a device on the LAN sends a packet to the Internet, NAT changes the source IP address to the global IP address assigned to the router. The mapping of internal to external addresses is maintained in a NAT table for routing responses back to the appropriate internal device.