Carrier Grade NAT Port Pool Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The shortage of public IP addresses due to the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses and the slow deployment of IPv6 addresses leads to inefficiencies in traditional carrier grade network address translation (NAT) methods, particularly network port address translation (NPAT), which requires large memory spaces for NAT tables and can compromise network throughput.
Innovation Solution
A method that dynamically maps one public IP address to multiple private IP addresses by associating sets of port numbers, allowing for efficient storage of offsets for incremental connections, thereby reducing memory usage and improving network performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If NPAT is used to translate multiple private IP addresses to a single public IP address, then the shortage of public IP addresses is mitigated, but large memory spaces are required for NAT tables
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the port address space into multiple pools, with each pool associated with a specific private IP address. Instead of maintaining a single large NAT table that maps all private IP addresses to all possible ports, the system divides the translation space into smaller, organized segments. This segmentation reduces the memory footprint of the NAT table while still supporting multiple private IP addresses through structured port allocation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an additional dimension to the NAT table structure by organizing port mappings not just by private IP address but also by port pools. This multi-dimensional organization allows the system to efficiently manage translations across multiple private IP addresses using a single public IP address while reducing overall memory requirements through structured data organization.
2Quantity of substance
If NPAT is used to share public IP addresses among multiple users, then public IP address availability is improved, but network throughput may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the port address space into dedicated pools for different private IP addresses, the patent reduces the complexity of NAT table lookups. This segmentation enables more efficient packet processing and translation operations, thereby maintaining or improving network throughput while still allowing multiple users to share the public IP address through structured port allocation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary port pool allocation when private IP addresses are assigned, organizing the translation space in advance. This preliminary structuring of port mappings reduces the computational overhead during actual packet translation operations, improving network throughput by minimizing lookup time and processing complexity while maintaining public IP address sharing capabilities.
3Reliability
If regular NAT is used to provide unique public IP addresses to each private IP address, then software applications work properly, but the number of required public IP addresses increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes a single public IP address universal by enabling it to serve multiple private IP addresses simultaneously through structured port pool allocation. Each private IP address is assigned a dedicated pool of ports from the public IP address, allowing the public IP address to function for multiple users while maintaining the reliability needed for application compatibility through organized translation management.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein are techniques for providing carrier grade dynamic network address translation (NAT). The disclosed techniques allow for dynamic switching from regular NAT to network address ports translation (NAPT) based on system load. Under the NAPT mode, the disclosed techniques allow the ports of a public IP address to be broken up into contiguous blocks of ports (e.g., of the same size and/or of varying size) such that each block can be assigned to an associated (e.g., different) private IP address. For each new connection from the private IP address, if the port used is the next port sequentially, the NAT device can store an offset from the starting public/private IP address ports. If the port is not the next port sequentially, the network address translation device can associate a new block of public ports to the private IP address.