Port Address Translation (PAT) is a Dynamic NAT translation mode. PAT translates multiple private IP addresses to a single public IP address by mapping the private IP address and source port to the public IP address and a unique port.
PAT supports the following mapping modes:
Address and Port-Dependent Mapping (APDM)—Uses different IP and port mappings for packets from the same source IP and port to different destination IP addresses and ports. APDM allows an external host to initiate connections to an internal host only under the condition that the internal host has previously accessed the external host. It is secure, but it does not allow internal hosts behind different NAT gateways to access each other.
Endpoint-Independent Mapping (EIM)—Uses the same IP and port mapping (EIM entry) for packets from the same source IP and port to any destinations. EIM allows external hosts to initiate connections to the translated IP addresses and ports of internal hosts. It allows internal hosts behind different NAT gateways to access each other.