Router NAT IP Address – Private vs Local IP Address

ip addressnat;router

Say a router is connected to two devices. Now the router will give those two devices different private IP addresses. The router itself has a private IP address (which serves as the default gateway for those two devices). The router also has a public IP address.

I understand the difference between public and private IP addresses.
But every now and then I see the term local IP address. This is sometimes used in context with private IP addresses.

So I'm confused if they are different or the same terms (private and local IP address). Are they synonyms? If they're different then how so?

Best Answer

So, let's say you have 2 interfaces on the router, with the 2 IP addresses. Let's say 192.168.1.1/24 on the first one and 176.16.1.1/24 on the other.

Presuming you're on a Cisco router, if you issue the command "show ip route" you'll see an output which shows the 2 IPs labeled with an L and a C. L stands for Local, and C for connected. Meaning that the 2 IPs are connected and locally significant for that router. Local IP address are the ones you have connected on that specific device. They can be either private or public, makes no difference.

Hope this answers your question.