What is the main purpose of Network Address Translation (NAT)?

The main purpose of Network Address Translation (NAT) is to allow multiple computers with private addresses to access the Internet using a single public address. This is particularly valuable in environments where there are more devices needing Internet access than there are available public IP addresses. NAT acts as an intermediary, mapping the private IP addresses of devices on a local network to a single public IP address when they communicate with external networks.

When a device on a private network wants to connect to the Internet, NAT modifies the outgoing packets’ source address from a private address to the public address assigned to the router. When the response packets return, NAT changes the destination address back to the appropriate private address, ensuring the communication reaches the correct device within the local network. This not only conserves the limited number of available public IP addresses but also adds an extra layer of security by masking the internal structure of the network from external entities.

While NAT does offer some level of security by hiding private IP addresses (as mentioned in one of the other options), its primary function is to facilitate Internet connectivity for multiple devices through a single public address. Other choices related to load balancing and simplifying IP address management do not address NAT’s core functionality, which is centered on address translation for network communication.