BIG-IP Carrier-Grade Network Address Translation (CGNAT)
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What is BIG-IP Carrier-Grade Network Address Translation (CGNAT)
BIG-IP Carrier-Grade Network Address Translation (CGNAT) is a carrier-focused NAT solution delivered on the F5 BIG-IP platform to help service providers conserve IPv4 address space and support IPv4/IPv6 transition. It is used by network engineering and operations teams to provide large-scale subscriber NAT (including NAT44, NAT64/DNS64, and related logging) while maintaining policy controls and service continuity. The product emphasizes high-throughput, stateful translation with operational tooling for subscriber visibility and compliance-oriented logging.
Operational visibility and logging
CGNAT deployments often require detailed mapping logs for troubleshooting and lawful or regulatory requests. BIG-IP CGNAT includes mechanisms to generate and export NAT mapping and session information for downstream log systems. This improves traceability compared with simpler NAT implementations that provide limited subscriber correlation.
Carrier-scale NAT performance
The solution is designed for high session scale and throughput typical of ISP and mobile core environments. It supports large translation tables and stateful connection tracking required for CGNAT use cases. This makes it suitable when NAT capacity must be centralized and engineered as a dedicated network function rather than embedded in general routing.
IPv4/IPv6 transition features
It supports common transition patterns such as NAT44 and NAT64 with DNS64 to enable IPv6-only clients to reach IPv4 services. These capabilities help operators run dual-stack or IPv6-forward strategies while extending IPv4 availability. The feature set aligns with service-provider migration requirements where translation and policy must coexist.
Platform and licensing complexity
CGNAT runs as part of the BIG-IP ecosystem, which typically involves multiple modules, licensing tiers, and platform sizing decisions. This can increase procurement and operational complexity compared with simpler, single-purpose network functions. Organizations may need specialized expertise to design and maintain the deployment.
Not a full SD-WAN solution
While it can be deployed in complex WAN and data center environments, CGNAT is primarily a translation and policy function rather than an SD-WAN control plane. It does not replace SD-WAN features such as path selection, overlay orchestration, and branch-centric management. Buyers looking for SD-WAN should treat CGNAT as a complementary network function.
Stateful NAT operational overhead
Carrier-grade NAT introduces state management, logging volume, and troubleshooting complexity that can affect operations at scale. Logging requirements can drive significant storage and SIEM integration costs, and misconfiguration can impact subscriber experience. These challenges are inherent to CGNAT architectures and require careful capacity planning and monitoring.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| BIG-IP CGNAT (module) — Virtual/Cloud/Hardware | Not listed on F5 public site — contact F5 Sales for pricing | Offered as a standalone license or as an add-on to BIG-IP LTM and Policy Enforcement Manager (PEM). Deployable as BIG-IP Virtual Edition (VNF/VE), as a Cloud-Native Network Function (CNF), or on F5 hardware (iSeries, rSeries, VELOS, VIPRION). No public list prices or per-unit/per-month tiers are published on the official product pages; F5 directs buyers to contact sales or partners. |
Seller details
F5, Inc.
Seattle, Washington, USA
1996
Public
https://www.f5.com/
https://x.com/f5
https://www.linkedin.com/company/f5/
