proxy and nat difference
 

Sir

i am confused about proxy and nat. i cant understand the difference b/w nay and proxy. where should i use proxy and why and where should i use configure nat and why?

guide me pls

thanks in advance

Generally speaking, it goes like this: With a NAT router, LAN clients' connections are forwarded directly to the WAN servers. With a proxy server, LAN clients connect to the proxy server, and the proxy server starts the connections to the WAN servers on behalf of the LAN clients. You would probably use a proxy if you want more control over the application layer, and a NAT router if you want to focus on the network layer. Lots of people use both simultaneously, such as in cases where you want everything to be NATed except Web traffic. My explanation is indeed oversimplified, and I recommend you check-out the links I provided to get the whole story.

thanks for ur reply


is there any technical or functional or security difference b/w nat and proxy?

Technical: The links I provided clearly explain the technical differences. Functional (example): Some client applications will work with NAT routers but not with proxy servers. Security (example): With a proxy server you can prevent clients from downloading EXE files and looking at adult websites - with a NAT router you can't.

thanks again

but where is the link?

You're welcome.

In the second post of this thread.