The Microsoft implementation of an address translation feature is called Network Address Translation (NAT). NAT can be used to enable computers on a network such as in small offices or home offices (SOHOs) to have a common Internet connection using a single public IP address. NAT translates IP addresses and associated TCP/UDP port numbers on the private network to public IP addresses which can be routed on the Internet. Often, the size of the network and the security requirements of the network would dictate whether NAT is used. Networks that do not require an implementation of a firewall solution or a proxy server solution can use NAT to provide basic Internet connectivity. Through NAT, host computers are able to share a single publicly registered IP address to access the Internet. With NAT, all outgoing packets are forwarded to the NAT server. At the NAT server, the source address of these outgoing packets are modified, and then forwarded to the Internet. All incoming packets ar...