A network engineer is configuring network address translation on an enterprise edge firewa… — CompTIA Network+

A network engineer is configuring network address translation on an enterprise edge firewall with a public IPv4 allocation of $203.0.113.0/29$ . The network architecture requires an internal database management server ( $192.168.10.5$ ) to accept persistent inbound management connections from authorized external partners while concealing its internal address. Simultaneously, 350 internal user workstations on the $192.168.10.0/24$ subnet require outbound internet access. Which address translation configuration strategy correctly satisfies all connectivity and access requirements while optimizing public IP address consumption?

Configure a Static NAT mapping for $192.168.10.5$ to public IP $203.0.113.2$ , and configure PAT (NAT Overload) using $203.0.113.1$ for the $192.168.10.0/24$ workstation subnet.Answer
B
Configure a Dynamic NAT pool containing IPs $203.0.113.1$ through $203.0.113.6$ shared dynamically among all internal hosts and the database server on a first-come, first-served basis.
C
Configure Static NAT for the entire $192.168.10.0/24$ subnet by binding Layer 2 MAC addresses to distinct port numbers on the public IP $203.0.113.2$ .
D
Configure PAT (NAT Overload) for the database server and configure Static NAT for all 350 workstations using the public IP $203.0.113.1$ .

Answer

Configure a Static NAT mapping for the database server to a dedicated public IP address, and configure PAT (NAT Overload) for the workstation subnet using a separate public IP address.

Static NAT provides a persistent, bidirectional one-to-one translation between a private IP address and a public IP address, allowing external hosts to initiate inbound connections to internal resources such as servers. PAT (NAT Overload) allows multiple internal hosts to share a single public IP address by mapping internal IP addresses and source port numbers to unique port numbers on the public IP, effectively optimizing IP address utilization for large workstation subnets.

Step-by-Step Solution

Analyze inbound connectivity requirements for the database server

Identified that external clients must initiate inbound connections to an internal host (

192.168.10.5

)

Inbound initiation requires a permanent, predictable one-to-one IP mapping (Static NAT) so external systems can reach the destination public IP.

Analyze outbound connectivity and capacity requirements for internal workstations

Identified 350 internal hosts needing outbound internet access with limited public IP resources (

203.0.113.0/29

has 6 usable host IPs)

Port Address Translation (PAT / NAT Overload) allows thousands of internal private IP addresses to share a single public IP by tracking source port numbers.

Synthesize NAT configuration strategy

Assign Static NAT (

192.168.10.5 ↔ 203.0.113.2

) for the server and PAT (

192.168.10.0/24 ↔ 203.0.113.1

) for workstations

This combination minimizes IP consumption (uses only 2 public IPs out of 6 available) while meeting all functional traffic patterns.

Key Concept

NAT and PAT Implementation Types (Static NAT vs PAT/Overload)

Estimated Time:1m 30s

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Step-by-Step Solution

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