Comments on: Cisco NAT Terminology

By: Vosin

Vosin — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 06:20:43 +0000

This was the article that finally made Cisco’s NAT terms click for me when I was studying for my CCNA - total lifesaver. I ended up having to call my ISP about a similar home networking issue, and I found their customer support page super helpful, especially the Brightspeed customer service number link. That contact info was a relief because getting a real person on the line saved me hours of second-guessing my router config. Seriously grateful for clear guides like this and responsive support when you need a human.

By: Rolitto

Rolitto — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 14:06:38 +0000

Thanks Ed for your awesome explanation. As usual, you never disappoint.

By: jay

jay — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 04:24:14 +0000

can someone guide me regarding the IP address at different points, when there are two NATs =, one at our side and one at the servers side on the internet.Thank you

By: Ed Harmoush

Ed Harmoush — Sun, 22 Nov 2020 03:01:03 +0000

In reply to Alex V.

Thanks Alex ;).

The only thing I’d point out about your interpretation of the terms, is remember for NAT the translations don’t have to be Private to Public. They can be Private to Private, or Public to Public as well.

Cheers!

By: Alex V

Alex V — Sun, 22 Nov 2020 01:04:27 +0000

This must be the best explanation on the Internet of the confusing terms used by Cisco. Thank you!

I also find it easier to think about these terms in following way:
Local == Private
Global == Public
Inside == Your network/devices
Outside == Not your network/devices

By: Ed Harmoush

Ed Harmoush — Sun, 22 Jul 2018 22:29:57 +0000

In reply to Dinesh. Hi Dinesh. Glad you enjoyed the explanation. I use PowerPoint for the animations, recorded to MP4, then converted to GIF. =)

By: Dinesh

Dinesh — Fri, 20 Jul 2018 02:56:22 +0000

Your explanation is really good. Keep it up, I would like to ask one thing that which software do you use to create these gif animation.. I really like these. Can you let me know about the tool name?

By: Ed Harmoush

Ed Harmoush — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 14:56:25 +0000

In reply to Matthew. Glad it helped, Matthew =). These terms confused me as well when I was first learning.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Fri, 15 Jun 2018 02:32:06 +0000

After self study, this part of NAT really concerned me and I was utterly confused. This simple article had my ahh-haa moment that I really needed. Thank you very much Ed.