Recognizing true advantages of Network Address Translation (NAT) From the list below, identify the statements that represent real advantages of deploying NAT in an enterprise edge design (choose the correct grouping).

Introduction / Context:
NAT translates private, non-routable address space to public addresses at the network edge. While NAT has trade-offs, it also offers concrete benefits that made it popular before widespread IPv6 adoption and continue to make it useful in many environments today. This question asks you to distinguish true advantages from known drawbacks.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Statements provided: (1) Translation introduces switching path delays. (2) Conserves legally registered addresses. (3) Causes loss of end-to-end IP traceability. (4) Increases flexibility when connecting to the Internet. (5) Certain applications will not function with NAT enabled. (6) Reduces address overlap occurrence.
• We must choose the grouping that lists only the advantages.

Concept / Approach:

NAT allows many internal hosts to share a limited set of public IPs, conserving registered address space (advantage). It also provides flexibility by abstracting internal addressing from service-provider assignments and changes (advantage). NAT helps when merging networks with overlapping private address spaces by translating one side to avoid conflicts (advantage). In contrast, NAT may complicate troubleshooting and break protocols that embed addresses or depend on end-to-end reachability (disadvantages).

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:

Review common NAT use cases: PAT for many-to-one translation conserves public IPs; dual-homing or provider migration is simpler with NAT; mergers and acquisitions often rely on NAT to resolve overlapping RFC1918 deployments.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Options including 1, 3, or 5 list disadvantages, not advantages.
• Groupings without 2, 4, and 6 miss key benefits of NAT.

Common Pitfalls:

• Assuming all NAT effects are beneficial; in reality, NAT can hinder troubleshooting and certain apps.
• Overlooking that NAT is not a security control by itself; it obscures addresses but does not replace a firewall.

Final Answer:

2, 4 and 6