I'm not 100% understanding how NATing works. Let me setup our network and talk this through.
So first of all, lets say that I have an IP size of 4 bits so 16 possible combination. The only private IPs are 1.1.*.*
this means that on my local network I can have 4 computers with addresses:
1.1.0.0
1.1.0.1
1.1.1.0
1.1.1.1
And in total on the internet there are (2^2-1)*2^2=12
public addresses which is a total of 12 public and 4 private = 16.
But if I didn't have the public/private scheme I'd still have 2^4=16
addresses.
How does NATing increase the number of computers on the LAN that can be addressed? I'm not at all understanding.
I can't see how using ports can increase the number of computers on a LAN. Each computer still has it's own address so why would the number of total devices increase?