What are the types of NAT?

There are several types of Network Address Translation (NAT), including:

1. Static NAT: Maps a private IP address to a public IP address on a one-to-one basis. This is useful for servers that need to be accessible from the internet.

   • Example: A web server in a private network is assigned a public IP address through static NAT, allowing external users to access it.

2. Dynamic NAT: Maps a private IP address to a public IP address from a pool of available public IP addresses. This is useful when a limited number of public IP addresses are available.

   • Example: Multiple computers in a private network share a pool of public IP addresses through dynamic NAT when accessing the internet.

3. Port Address Translation (PAT): Also known as NAT Overload, maps multiple private IP addresses to a single public IP address by using different port numbers. This is the most common form of NAT and allows many devices to share a single public IP address.

   • Example: A home router uses PAT to allow multiple devices in the household to share a single public IP address when accessing the internet.

In the context of cloud services, Tencent Cloud offers NAT Gateway services that support various types of NAT configurations to meet different networking needs.