Network Address Translation (NAT)

Network Address Translation (NAT) is one of three connection methods clients can use to access the Internet through WinGate. With little configuration or overhead, NAT it is a simple but effective way to give clients access regardless of what Internet application they are using.

To use NAT, WinGate clients are simply required to have their gateway set to the LAN IP address of the WinGate server and have access on the LAN to a suitable DNS server for DNS lookups if they are needed.

A NAT client can be any computer that uses TCP/IP networking, regardless of operating system. This makes it ideal for LANs that have a mix of operating systems that require Internet access. WinGate NAT will handle connections from Windows, MAC, and UNIX machines that communicate using TCP/IP.

All Internet connections made by NAT client applications will be forwarded to WinGate since it is set as their gateway. When WinGate receives the request, the connection is added to a tabled record of current NAT connections. NAT will swap the Source IP address in the clients packet with WinGates own public IP address, and continue to fulfill the connection on the Internet. When the response, and subsequent data is received back from the remote server, WinGate NAT retranslates the address in the packet and sends it back to the client on the LAN who originally requested it.

Note

Configuring clients to use NAT

1. On the client machine, open the properties of the LAN network interface.
2. In the TCP/IP properties, select the Gateway setting, and enter the LAN IP address of the WinGate server.
3. In the DNS (server) setting, enter the LAN IP address of the DNS server that will perform DNS lookups for the client if required.

Note

Intercepting Proxy

Due of the light weight approach of Network Address Translation, NAT clients cannot be controlled as easily as users who have configured their applications to use a WinGate proxy service, or those who have WGIC installed on their machines.

A few WinGate proxy network services offer the Intercepting Proxy feature (located on the Intercepting tab of the service properties) which can be made to listen for ALL traffic on a selection of different ports. Any request received by WinGate on a port listed on the Intercepting tab, will be subjected to the controls and features of the particular proxy service where it is set. This means that ENS NAT connections made to WinGate on particular ports, can be intercepted by the relevant network service and processed the same way as a normal proxy request.

The NAT client will be put through any policies or controls from event processors that have been configured to respond to events registered by the particular proxy service. This allows you to utilize the easy set up for NAT clients and the power of the WinGate network proxy services when managing client connections.

Read more about Intercepting Proxies