Network Address Translation (NAT)

Network Address Translation (NAT) is a technology that is used to mask network IP addresses, to provide a more secure network environment.

In order for a computer to communicate across a public network (such as the Internet), it must have a public IP address.  We use DHCP to give out private IP addresses to computers and at the edge of the Medical Center network, we use NAT to translate the private IP addresses into a public address. 

For more information about our NAT implementation, contact the Network Engineering group.  To learn more about network protections, see the discussion of public vs. private IP networks.