If you’re behind a NAT gateway, you have a set of IP addresses that are usable only in the NAT environment. If you were to assign a domain name to these addresses outside the NAT gateway, none of the domain names would resolve to the correct computer.
However, you can run DNS service behind the gateway, assigning host names to NAT IP addresses. This way, if you’re behind the NAT gateway, you can enter domain names rather than IP addresses to access servers, services, and workstations.
Your DNS server should also have a forwarding zone to send DNS requests outside of the NAT gateway to permit resolution of names outside the routed area.
Your client network settings should specify the DNS server behind the NAT gateway. The process of setting up one of these networks is the same as setting up a private network.
If you set up namespace behind the NAT gateway, names entered by users outside the gateway won’t resolve to addresses behind it. Set the DNS records outside the NAT-routed area to point to the NAT gateway and use NAT port forwarding to access computers behind the NAT gateway.
The Multicast DNS feature lets you use host names on your local subnet that end with the .local suffix without enabling DNS. Any service or device that supports Multicast DNS permits the use of user-defined namespace on your local subnet without setting up and configuring DNS.