Which statement describes PAT?

Which statement describes PAT?

• A. Overloads a single public IP by using distinct ports
• B. Maps each private IP to a unique public IP
• C. Uses multiple public IPs
• D. No NAT is involved

Answer: (A)

Port Address Translation (PAT) is a form of NAT that allows many private hosts to share a single public IP by multiplexing connections with different source ports. When internal devices access the Internet, the router translates each connection from a private IP and port to the same public IP but with a unique public port for that session. Responses return to the public IP and the router uses its translation table to forward them to the correct internal host and port. This is why describing PAT as overload of one public IP by using distinct ports is the best fit. It differs from mapping each private IP to a unique public IP (that would be 1:1 NAT) and from using multiple public IPs (that would be a different NAT setup). No NAT being involved is incorrect because PAT is a NAT technique.

Port Address Translation (PAT) is a form of NAT that allows many private hosts to share a single public IP by multiplexing connections with different source ports. When internal devices access the Internet, the router translates each connection from a private IP and port to the same public IP but with a unique public port for that session. Responses return to the public IP and the router uses its translation table to forward them to the correct internal host and port. This is why describing PAT as overload of one public IP by using distinct ports is the best fit. It differs from mapping each private IP to a unique public IP (that would be 1:1 NAT) and from using multiple public IPs (that would be a different NAT setup). No NAT being involved is incorrect because PAT is a NAT technique.