Wirt writes:
> Adding a router with NAT (network address translation) capabilities to
> your LAN will be the next necessary step to get you a gateway to the
> internet.

Speaking of NAT boxes...

CNN has an interesting interview with Vint Cerf on the "next-generation
Internet protocol" (IPv6), in which NAT boxes are mentioned frequently.

Some highlights:

   We tried to increase the efficiency with interdomain
   routing and allocation rules that go along with it. But
   the side effect of those rules is the proliferation of
   network address translation [NAT] boxes, which take a
   single Internet address and multiplex it among a bunch
   of different devices. It's a fairly ugly process from an
   architectural point of view, although it turns out to be
   very effective, and a lot of people are relying on it.
   ...
   It may very well be that the only way to get to Version 6
   is for NAT boxes to convert Version 6 addresses to
   Version 4 addresses and back [for a while].
   ...
   We can see the demand for hundreds of millions of devices
   on the 'Net already. Cell phones that are Internet-enabled.
   Cable set-top boxes and other appliances that become
   Internet-enabled. The people who are building [these devices]
   are getting IPv6 allocations.

The full interview is at:

   < http://cnn.com/TECH/computing/9910/27/cerf.ipv6.idg/cerf.ipv6.html >

--Glenn