IPv4

🚀 Internet Protocol (IP) The Internet Protocol (IP) is a key protocol in the network layer responsible for addressing and routing data packets between devices across interconnected networks. There are two major versions of IP in use today: IPv4 and IPv6. 1. IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses, providing a total of approximately 4.3 billion unique addresses. IPv4 Address Format: IPv4 addresses are written in dotted decimal notation, consisting of four 8-bit octets (e.g., 192.168.1.1). ...

🚀 Network Address Translation (NAT) Network Address Translation (NAT) is a technique used in IPv4 networks to manage the shortage of public IP addresses and provide security by hiding internal network structures. NAT is typically implemented on routers or firewalls and allows a single public IP address to represent multiple devices in a private network. Types of NAT: Static NAT: Maps a private IP address to a specific public IP address. Each internal device has a fixed corresponding public IP. Dynamic NAT: Maps a private IP address to a pool of public IP addresses. When an internal device initiates a connection, the router selects an available public IP from the pool. Port Address Translation (PAT): Also known as Overloading, it maps multiple private IP addresses to a single public IP address using different port numbers to differentiate between the connections. 🧠 How NAT Works Translation Process: When a device in a private network sends data to the internet, the NAT device modifies the source IP address in the packet header from the private IP to the public IP. The device keeps track of the connection in a translation table. ...