Policy NAT (Conditional NAT) Use Cases

Policy NAT, also known as Conditional NAT, is a type of Network Address Translation (NAT) used to apply NAT based on specific conditions or criteria. It offers more control over the NAT process in various network scenarios.

Use Cases:

  • Different Service Providers: Policy NAT allows routing and NAT traffic to different ISPs, based on source IP or traffic type, useful in multi-ISP environments.
  • Security: It can translate source IPs for specific destinations to keep internal IP addresses hidden from certain external networks while leaving them unchanged for others.
  • Load Balancing: Although not ideal for this purpose, Policy NAT can distribute network load by directing traffic through different paths based on source/destination IPs or protocols.
  • Overlapping Networks: Useful in avoiding IP conflicts when merging networks with the same IP address range.

While the use cases may be limited, Policy NAT is a valuable tool in scenarios requiring specific NAT applications.

https://networklessons.com/cisco/ccie-routing-switching-written/policy-nat