Mac OS X Server can perform NAT, taking requests from machines connected to one network interface and submitting them as if the server had made the request. Enabling NAT doesn't require two network interfaces, but it's suggested. Any Macintosh that supports Mac OS X Server can perform NAT. This function is also found in inexpensive wireless routers, such as Apple's AirPort Base Station. There are a few reasons to use NAT:
Perhaps your organization doesn't need to have every computer use a public IP address. Using public IP addresses for each computer can, of course, lead to security issues, because every computer can be seen by the outside world. You still need all your computers to access the Internet and send and receive email, but you don't want to take the security risk of having those public IPs. Or, maybe you want to watch all requests to Web sites so you can monitor them for unauthorized use. Perhaps you purchased an Xserve and have no need to purchase many public IP addresses, which can be very expensive. In all these cases, NAT is for you. Before you begin the next task, be sure your primary network interface is set up correctly and that you can connect to the network properly (Figure 6.23). Then set up your secondary network interface with the appropriate IP information for your internal network (Figure 6.24). You must have both network interfaces active to make NAT function. Figure 6.23. Viewing the network information on the built-in Ethernet interface.Figure 6.24. Entering network information on the secondary network interface.To configure NAT
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