PAT
/ˌpiː-eɪ-ˈtiː/
n. “The magic that lets many devices share one public IP.”
PAT, short for Port Address Translation, is a type of network address translation (NAT) that allows multiple devices on a private network to share a single public IP address for outbound traffic. It achieves this by mapping each private device’s IP address and port to a unique port on the public IP, enabling the router to direct return traffic correctly.
Key characteristics of PAT include: