KR20040027218A - Apparatus and method of network address translation - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A network address converting apparatus and a method therefor are provided to resolve unbalance in traffic and reduce switching time of a packet by setting the allowable number of access to a global IP and limiting access of a local IP. CONSTITUTION: A local IP allowable number controller(220) checks a local IP address of an outgoing IP packet and controls the number of local IPs so as not to exceed a maximum allowable number in allocation to a global IP. A network address converter(210) converts a network address of an IP packet transmitted from the local IP allowable number controller(220) or an incoming IP packet and forwards it to a global network or a private network. A local IP converting table(230) stores conversion information based on which the network address converter(210) converts an address of an IP packet.

Description

Apparatus and method of network address translation

The present invention relates to a network address translation (NAT) apparatus and method, and more particularly to a network address translation apparatus and method that can limit the number of local IP (IP) allowed.

The Internet has grown rapidly over the last few years, and now a large number of hosts are connecting to the Internet. However, in order for each host to be connected to the Internet, an authorized unique Internet Protocol (IP) address must be assigned to each host.

However, in the current IPv4-type Internet architecture, as the number of Internet-using hosts explodes, providing a unique IP address to all hosts newly connected to the Internet causes a problem of insufficient IP addresses.

In order to overcome this limitation of IPv4, research is being conducted on a new Internet protocol called IPv6 which greatly expands the IP address field length. However, these IPv6 schemes remain difficult to apply and operate on the Internet.

Therefore, in order to solve the problem of IP address shortage in the current Internet protocol system, a network address translation method has been proposed.

The network address translation method converts an IP address of a private network into an IP address of a global network by using an address assignment mechanism. It is used to save IP address by being built in router or firewall.

By mapping the global IP of the limited global network and the local IP of the private network as described above, it is possible to transmit and receive packets by translating addresses, thereby overcoming the limitations of the global IP and providing services to an increasing private network.

A network IP translation method has been proposed in the Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 2000-0000185 (Address saving Internet access using a network address translation (NAT) function and a virtual private network (VPN) configuration method) using a global IP allocation method using a network address translation method have.

However, in the conventional method, when the local IP device transmits a packet to the global IP, the local IP corresponding to the source IP address of the packet for transmission by the network address translation method is unconditionally assigned to the global IP and converted into a global network. There is a problem that many local IPs can be collected in one global IP by transmitting packets.

Therefore, since there is no function to limit the number of local IPs connected to the global IP to date, there is a problem that traffic can be imbalanced for a specific local IP, and a security problem of the local IP occurs.

In addition, when multiple local IPs are connected to a single global IP, a device in charge of the address translation function delays switching of each transmit / receive packet, causing inconvenience to local IP users using the service.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art, to limit the number of local IP to allow access to the global IP, to ensure the minimum utilization of the local IP device for the global IP, switching It is an object of the present invention to provide a network address translation apparatus and method that can save time and maintain security for a local IP device.

1 is a block diagram showing a network configuration including a network address translation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the network address translation apparatus of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a network address translation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Brief description of the main parts of the drawings>

110: private network 120: global network

200: network address translation apparatus 210: network address translation unit

220: allowable number of local IP control unit 230: local IP conversion table

300: Local IP Allowance Number Control Module

Network address translation apparatus according to the present invention,

In the network address translation device that connects the local IP address of the private network to the global IP of the global network,

A local IP allowance number control unit for allocating a global IP to a local IP of an IP packet transmitted from a private network to a global network, and limiting a maximum number of local IPs allocated to the global IP to a maximum allowable number or less by a user setting;

A local IP conversion table for storing global IP information allocated to the local IP by the local IP allowance number control unit;

And a network address translator configured to perform address translation of an outgoing packet or an incoming packet transmitted by the local IP allowance number control unit and to transmit and receive the corresponding packet with reference to the local IP translation table.

Preferably, the local IP conversion table,

A local IP address corresponding to the source address information of the outgoing IP packet,

The global IP address assigned to the local IP address,

Timeout information of a local IP address connected to the global IP;

Characterized in that it comprises a number of information to allow the translation of the local IP address less than the maximum allowable number in the global IP.

In addition, the network address translation method according to the present invention,

In the network address translation method for transmitting and receiving IP packets between a private network and a global network,

Receiving the outgoing packet from the private network, checking a source IP address of the packet, and retrieving the corresponding IP address from the local IP conversion table;

Comparing the number of local IPs allowed to be allocated to the global IP with the number of local IPs currently registered in the local IP conversion table when the corresponding local IP address is not present in the local IP conversion table;

As a result of the comparison, if the number of local IPs currently registered in the local IP conversion table is not smaller than the number of local IPs allowed to be assigned to the global IP, limiting the maximum number of local IPs allocated to the global IPs; Characterized in that the configuration.

Preferably, if the local IP of the outgoing packet is in the local IP conversion table,

Determining whether the local IP times out;

If it is determined that the local IP has timed out, deleting the local IP from the local IP conversion table, assigning a new global IP to the local IP, and then registering the local IP in the local IP conversion table;

And converting the local IP of the outgoing packet into a global IP and transmitting it to a global network.

Preferably, if the local IP of the outgoing packet is in the local IP conversion table and has not timed out,

And converting the local IP of the outgoing packet into a global IP and transmitting it to a global network.

Preferably, if the local IP of the outgoing packet is not in the local IP conversion table, and the number of local IPs currently registered in the local IP conversion table is less than the number of local IPs allowed to be allocated to the global IP,

Allocating the global IP to the local IP of the outgoing packet and registering the allocation information in the local IP conversion table;

And converting the local IP of the outgoing packet into a global IP and transmitting the same to a global network.

Preferably, the step of limiting the maximum allowable number of local IPs allocated to the global IP,

Determining whether the local IPs registered in the local IP conversion table are timed out, and determining whether the local IPs that have timed out are network connectivity;

Deleting the local IP disconnected from the local IP conversion table as a result of the determination;

Allocating a global IP to a local IP of the outgoing packet and registering it in a local IP conversion table;

And converting the local IP of the outgoing packet into a global IP and transmitting it to a global network.

Preferably, when there is no local IP timed out of the local IP registered in the local IP conversion table,

And discarding the outgoing packet.

Preferably, when all of the local IP timed out of the local IP registered in the local IP conversion table is connected to the network,

And discarding the outgoing packet.

Preferably, the step of limiting the maximum allowable number of local IPs allocated to the global IP,

If the number of local IPs currently registered in the local IP conversion table is not less than the number of local IPs allowed to be allocated to the global IP, the method further comprises the step of discarding outgoing packets.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described an embodiment of the present invention;

1 is a block diagram showing a network configuration including a network address translation apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a network including a network address translation apparatus may transmit and receive IP packets between a private network 110, a global network 120, and a private network 110 and a global network 120. It consists of.

The private network 110 is a network in an individual or an enterprise composed of hosts each having its own local IP, and the global network 120 is a network capable of transmitting and receiving data with the Internet global IP.

Therefore, since the hosts of the private network 110 have a local IP, it is possible to receive an Internet global IP to communicate with the outside through the global network 120.

The network address translation apparatus 200 functions to allocate a global IP of the global network 120 to local IPs of hosts of the private network 110, convert the global IPs, and transmit and receive packets.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the network address translation apparatus 200 controls not to be assigned more than the allowable number of local IP by specifying the maximum allowable number of local IP that can be assigned to a limited global IP address.

The network address translation apparatus 200 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 2.

2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the network address translation apparatus 200 of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the network address translation apparatus 200 includes a network address translation unit 210, a local IP allowance number control unit 220, and a local IP conversion table 230.

The local IP allowance number control unit 220 checks the local IP address of the IP packet being outgoed, and adjusts the number of local IPs so as not to exceed the maximum allowable number allowed for the global IP.

In addition, the network address conversion unit 210 converts the network address of the IP packet or the incoming IP packet transmitted from the local IP allowable number control unit 220 and forwards it to the global network 120 or the private network 110.

In addition, the local IP conversion table 230 stores the conversion information for the network address translation unit 210 to refer to the conversion of the IP packet address.

The network address translation apparatus 200 configured as described above performs a conventional address translation operation on the incoming IP packet, and the global IP does not exceed the number of local IPs specified by the user for the outgoing IP packet. It will control the number of local IPs assigned to.

In particular, the local IP conversion table 230 according to an embodiment of the present invention has the configuration shown in Table 1 to control the allowed number of local IP.

Allowable Local IP Global IP Timeout Destination address One 192.168.1.5 147.6.61.2 60 sec 120.2.34.1 2 192.168.1.2 147.6.61.2 60 sec 133.5.21.7 3 192.168.1.3 147.6.61.3 60 sec 145.2.50.4 4 192.168.1.4 147.6.61.3 60 sec 133.6.25.9

Referring to Table 1, the local IP conversion table 230 is a source IP address for the outgoing IP packet, that is, the local IP, the global IP and timeout information assigned to the local IP and the destination address information of the IP packet Have

The network address conversion unit 210 converts a source IP address (local IP) of the IP packet into a global IP by referring to the local IP conversion table 230 and transmits the IP address to the global network 120, and receives the destination IP packet. The address is converted to the correct IP address of the local device and forwarded to the private network.

The local IP table and the method for controlling the local IP allowance number using the allowable number information set by the user will be described in detail as follows.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a network address translation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, when an IP packet for IP packet forwarding occurs to the network address translation apparatus 200 (S301), it is determined whether the packet is outgoing (S302).

In the embodiment of the present invention, except for internal IP packet forwarding between local devices in the private network 110, outgoing for transmitting IP packets from the private network 110 to the global network 120, and the private network 110 in the global network 120. Only the incoming transmission of the IP packet will be described.

If the IP packet is an outgoing packet in step S302, the packet is received by the local IP allowance number control unit 220 of the network address translation apparatus 200.

The local IP allowance number control unit 220 checks the local IP address which is the source address of the IP packet, searches the local IP conversion table 230 with the local IP address (S311), and whether the local IP address exists in the table. It is determined whether or not (S312).

In step S312, if the source address of the IP packet exists in the local IP conversion table 230, the local IP allowance number control unit 220 checks the timeout information of the local IP conversion table 230, and the corresponding local IP is determined. It is determined whether or not the time-out state (S331).

If the local IP is not timeout in step S331, the local IP packet allowable number control unit 220 transmits the IP packet to the network address translator 210 as it is, and the network address translator 210 transmits the IP packet to the destination. The address is converted into a global IP by referring to the local API conversion table 230 (S334) and transmitted to the global network 120 (S350).

However, if the corresponding local IP has timed out in step S331, the local IP allowance number control unit 220 once again allocates the global IP and registers it in the local IP conversion table 230 (S332).

Then, the local IP allowance number control unit 220 transmits the IP packet to the network address translator 210, and the network address translator 210 converts the source address (local IP) of the packet to the global IP. In operation S334, the packet is transmitted to the global network 120 in operation S350.

In addition, if the source address of the IP packet does not exist in the local IP conversion table 230 in step S312, the local IP allowance number control unit 220 and the number of local IP currently registered in the local IP conversion table 230 and By comparing the maximum allowable number set by the user, it is determined whether the number of local IPs registered in the local IP conversion table 230 is smaller than the allowable number (S321).

If the number of local IPs registered in the local IP conversion table 230 is smaller than the allowable number in step S321, the local IP allowance number control unit 220 allocates a global IP to a source IP address (local IP) of the IP packet. After registering the information in the local IP conversion table 230, the IP packet is transmitted to the network address translator 210, and the network address translator 210 converts the source address (local IP) to the global IP (S334). ) To be transmitted (S350).

At this time, when the local IP allowance number control unit 220 allocates a global IP to a source IP address (local IP) of the IP packet and registers the information in the local IP conversion table 230, the destination IP of the corresponding IP packet ( Global IP) is registered in the destination item of the local IP conversion table 230.

This converts the local IP to the source IP (global IP) of the incoming packet in order to correctly transmit the IP packet, which is incoming from the global network 120, to the local IP device of the private network 110 in the network address translator 210. By searching the destination address item of the table 230, the local IP of the private network 120 can be found.

As a result of the check in step S321, if the number of local IPs registered in the local IP conversion table 230 is not smaller than the allowable number, the local IP allowance number control unit 22 is selected from the local IPs registered in the local IP conversion table 230. Search for a local IP that has timed out (S322).

In addition, the local IP allowance number control unit 220 performs a network connectivity check on the time-out of the local IP (S323), and determines whether the connection is valid (S324).

If there is a local IP for which connection is not valid in step S324, the local IP is deleted from the local IP conversion table 230, and then a global IP is allocated to the local IP of the IP packet and registered in the table (S332). Transmission to the network address translation unit 210.

At this time, the IP packet transmitted to the network address translator 210, as described above, the network address translator 210 converts the source address (local IP) of the IP packet to the global IP (S334), packet transmission (S350).

However, if there is no local IP timed out in step S322, the local IP allowance number control unit 220 processes the generated IP packet by error processing and discards it (S326).

Similarly, if all of the network connections of the local IP timed out in step S324 are valid, the IP packet is not allocated a global IP and is processed in error and discarded (S326).

In addition, for an incoming packet instead of an outgoing packet, the network address translation unit 210 receives the incoming packet, checks the source IP address (global IP) of the received IP packet, and then converts the local IP conversion table 230. In step S341, it is determined whether the source address (global IP) is in the destination item of the local IP conversion table (S342).

In step S342, if the source address of the incoming packet (global IP) is present in the local IP conversion table 230, the network address translator 210 determines that the incoming address of the incoming packet is present. The destination address is converted into a local IP address in the local IP conversion table 230 (S344), and the packet is transmitted to the private network 110 (S350).

However, if the source IP address (global IP) of the incoming IP packet is not present in the local IP conversion table 230 in step S342, since the internal local IP address to be transmitted is not known, the packet is discarded in error (S343). .

As described above, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the local IP allowance number control unit 220 limits the number of local IPs to be connected according to the number of local IP allowances set by the user, thereby increasing traffic stability and switching time. You can stop it and make your local IP more secure.

An example of applying the network address translation method according to an embodiment of the present invention as described above will be described with reference to Table 1.

In order to transmit IP packets from the local device having the local IP address '192.168.1.9' to the global IP address '143.2.30.4' of the global network, the IP packet is generated and transmitted to the network address translation apparatus 200. Therefore, the local IP allowance number control unit 220 first receives the IP packet.

Upon receiving the IP packet, the local IP allowance number control unit 220 searches whether the IP address of the received IP packet '192.168.1.9' is registered in the local IP conversion table 230.

Referring to Table 1, since there is no local IP address '192.168.1.9' in the local IP conversion table 230, it is checked whether the number of local IPs currently registered in the local IP conversion table 230 is smaller than the allowable number. .

If the user sets the allowable number to '4', the local IP conversion table 230 in Table 1 does not have a smaller number of registered local IPs than the allowable number, and becomes the same, so that new local IP registration is no longer possible. .

Therefore, the local IP allowed number control unit 220 finds that the timed out of the registered local IP.

At this time, if the local IP '192.168.1.2' and '192.168.1.3' in the Table 1 is the local IP address timed out, the local IP allowed number control unit 220 checks the network connectivity of the two local IP.

As a result of the connectivity test, if the connection of the local IP address of '192.168.1.3' is disconnected, the local IP allowance number control unit 220 deletes the contents of the corresponding local IP '192.168.1.3'.

If one local IP information is deleted as described above, a new local IP can be registered. Therefore, the local IP allowance number control unit 220 registers the IP address source address '192.168.1.9' to the local IP address, assigns the global IP to '147.6.61.3', and then assigns the '143.2.30.4' to the destination address. The information is registered and the IP packet is transmitted to the network address translator 210.

The network address translation unit 210 finds and converts the global IP assigned to the source address '192.158.1.9' of the received IP packet in the local IP conversion table 230, and converts the IP packet to the global network.

In this way, the number of local IPs allocated to the global IP can be limited.

In addition, when the response packet is encoded for the IP packet, since the source address is '143.2.30.4', the local IP corresponding to '143.2.30.4' is searched by searching the destination address field of the local IP conversion table 230. It finds and converts the destination IP of the incoming IP address and transmits it to the private network so that it can be received by the local device.

As described above, the network address translation apparatus and method according to the present invention is a network IP translation apparatus for assigning and using a local IP of a private network to a limited global IP in order to overcome the limitations of the limited global IP. In order to solve the problem of unbalanced traffic and delayed packet switching when local IPs are gathered at once, the number of allowable access to global IPs can be set according to user's settings, and the access of local IPs is restricted. It is possible to solve the imbalance, reduce the switching time of the packet, and improve the security by managing the connection state of the local IP by the timeout method.

Claims (10)

In the network address translation device that connects the local IP address of the private network to the global IP of the global network, A local IP allowance number control unit for allocating a global IP to a local IP of an IP packet transmitted from a private network to a global network, and limiting a maximum number of local IPs allocated to the global IP to a maximum allowable number or less by a user setting; A local IP conversion table for storing global IP information allocated to the local IP by the local IP allowance number control unit; A network address translator for performing address translation of an outgoing packet or an incoming packet transmitted by the local IP allowance number control unit with reference to the local IP conversion table, and transmitting and receiving the corresponding packet. Network address translation apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1, The local IP conversion table, A local IP address corresponding to the source address information of the outgoing IP packet, The global IP address assigned to the local IP address, Timeout information of a local IP address connected to the global IP; Allowed number information for converting the local IP address to less than the maximum allowable number in the global IP Network address translation apparatus comprising a. In the network address translation method for transmitting and receiving IP packets between a private network and a global network, Receiving the outgoing packet from the private network, checking a source IP address of the packet, and retrieving the corresponding IP address from the local IP conversion table; Comparing the number of local IPs allowed to be allocated to the global IP with the number of local IPs currently registered in the local IP conversion table when the corresponding local IP address is not present in the local IP conversion table; As a result of the comparison, if the number of local IPs currently registered in the local IP conversion table is not smaller than the number of local IPs allowed to be allocated to the global IPs, limiting the maximum number of local IPs allocated to the global IPs. Network address translation method comprising a. The method of claim 3, If the local IP of the outgoing packet is in the local IP conversion table, Determining whether the local IP times out; If it is determined that the local IP has timed out, deleting the local IP from the local IP conversion table, assigning a new global IP to the local IP, and then registering the local IP in the local IP conversion table; Converting the local IP of the outgoing packet into a global IP and transmitting the same to a global network Network address translation method, characterized in that further comprises. The method of claim 4, wherein If the local IP of the outgoing packet is in the local IP conversion table and has not timed out, Converting the local IP of the outgoing packet into a global IP and transmitting the same to a global network Network address translation method, characterized in that further comprises. The method of claim 3, If the local IP of the outgoing packet is not in the local IP conversion table, and the number of local IPs currently registered in the local IP conversion table is smaller than the number of local IPs allowed to be allocated to the global IP, Allocating the global IP to the local IP of the outgoing packet and registering the allocation information in the local IP conversion table; Converting the local IP of the outgoing packet into a global IP and transmitting it to a global network Network address translation method, characterized in that further comprises. The method of claim 3, Limiting the maximum allowable number of local IPs allocated to the global IP, Determining whether the local IPs registered in the local IP conversion table are timed out, and determining whether the local IPs that have timed out are network connectivity; Deleting the local IP disconnected from the local IP conversion table as a result of the determination; Allocating a global IP to a local IP of the outgoing packet and registering it in a local IP conversion table; Converting the local IP of the outgoing packet into a global IP and transmitting the same to a global network Network address translation method, characterized in that further comprises. The method of claim 7, wherein If there is no local IP timed out among local IPs registered in the local IP conversion table, And discarding the outgoing packet. The method of claim 7, wherein If all of the local IPs timed out of the local IPs registered in the local IP conversion table are connected to the network, And discarding the outgoing packet. The method of claim 3, Limiting the maximum allowable number of local IPs allocated to the global IP, When the number of local IPs currently registered in the local IP conversion table is not smaller than the number of local IPs allowed to be allocated to the global IP, the network address translation method further comprises the step of discarding outgoing packets. .