[plug] IP Chains

[Bret Busby]

Christian wrote:
> 

<snip> 

> Ok, if a machine on a LAN receives an IP datagram then the datagram has
> usually been addressed to it.  The exception being if the station is
> acting as a router in which case it has received the packet because it
> needs to forward the packet on to a machine on a different network
> (remember all machines on the local ethernet are directly accessible
> simply through their MAC address).  If the machine receives a datagram
> not addressed to it and it has not been instructed to FORWARD the
> datagram on to another network then it will discard it (believing that
> an error has occurred).  If it receives the datagram and it looks at the
> address and knows how to reach that network then it will forward the
> datagram to that network but only if IP forwarding has been enabled.
> That is why a machine doing NAT needs IP forwarding enabled, do you see?
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Christian.

Thanks, Christian.

Another question; what is "NAT"?

-- 

Bret Busby

Phone/Fax:    +61 8 9399 3820 ( 08 9399 3820 within Australia)

........................................