| Summary

| It should now be clear that translations and connections play a critical role in dictating how the PIX Security Appliance directs traffic across its interfaces. Translations use NAT or PAT technologies to change the IP address of traffic as it goes across the PIX. For traffic going from the inside network to the outside network, this provides an additional layer of security and helps the administrator conserve IP address space. For traffic going from outside networks to inside networks, translations help simplify the router configuration on the internal, or perimeter, networks by controlling the addresses that appear on these networks. When using translations, the PIX Security Appliance is also capable of supporting DNS functionality.

Connections are used to create pathways through the PIX from lower security networks to higher security networks. These pathways allow traffic that would otherwise be denied by default. These pathways must be defined, so that only specified traffic is allowed through. The PIX Security Appliance uses the static and conduit or the static and access-list commands to do this.