An external IP address is the IP address assigned to a user (typically a home user) by an ISP which is the address "seen" by the world of the Internet. This is set apart from the Internal (non-routable) "private" IP address, used internally only to route data around a home.
For example, an external IP address could be 76.101.44.212 and this would not feature at all in the internal home network. Instead, the home network would be based upon the private (non-routable) network, 192.168.1.1, of which there might be: a home desktop computer, 192.168.1.10, a laptop, accessing the home network, 192.168.1.13, and a wireless NIC attached to the family TiVo (and updating the family's television programming), 192.168.1.65 etc... Many more devices could be added, typically up to four wired devices and multiple wireless devices, depending on the protocol used, and whether it is 802.11 b, g or n. None of these devices could be accessed over the routable IP network, 76.101.44.1, except via the family router, which by using NAT (Network Address Translation) passes the data packets to the internal network.
----------
A gateway is a network point that acts as an entrance to another network. On the Internet, a node or stopping point can be either a gateway node or a host (end-point) node. Both the computers of Internet users and the computers that serve pages to users are host nodes, while the nodes that connect the networks in between are gateways. For example, the computers that control traffic between company networks or the computers used by internet service providers (ISPs) to connect users to the internet are gateway nodes.
In the network for an enterprise, a computer server acting as a gateway node is often also acting as a proxy server and a firewall server. A gateway is often associated with both a router, which knows where to direct a given packet of data that arrives at the gateway, and a switch, which furnishes the actual path in and out of the gateway for a given packet.
On an IP network, clients should automatically send IP packets with a destination outside a given subnet mask to a network gateway. A subnet mask defines the IP range of a network. For example, if a network has a base IP address of 192.168.0.0 and has a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, then any data going to an IP address outside of 192.168.0.X will be sent to that network's gateway. While forwarding an IP packet to another network, the gateway might or might not perform Network Address Translation.
A gateway is an essential feature of most routers, although other devices (such as any PC or server) can function as a gateway.
Most computer operating systems use the terms described above. A computer running Microsoft Windows however describes this standard networking feature as Internet Connection Sharing; which will act as a gateway, offering a connection between the Internet and an internal network. Such a system might also act as a DHCP server. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a protocol used by networked devices (clients) to obtain various parameters necessary for the clients to operate in an Internet Protocol (IP) network. By using this protocol, system administration workload greatly decreases, and devices can be added to the network with minimal or no manual configurations.
---------
Port forwarding or port mapping is the technique of forwarding a TCP/IP packet traversing a network address translator (NAT) gateway to a predetermined network port on a host within a NAT-masqueraded, typically private network based on the port number on which it was received at the gateway from the originating host.
The technique is used to permit communications by external hosts with services provided within a private local area network
Port forwarding allows remote computers, for example, computers on the Internet, to connect to a specific computer or service within a private local area network (LAN).
In a typical residential network Internet access is obtained through a DSL or cable modem connected to a router or network address translator (NAT). Hosts on the private network are connected to an Ethernet switch or communicate via a wireless LAN. The NAT device's external interface is configured with a public IP address. The computers behind the router, on the other hand, are invisible to hosts on the Internet as they each communicate only with a private IP address.
When configuring port forwarding, the network administrator sets aside one port number on the gateway for exclusive use of communicating with a service in the private network, located on a specific host. External hosts must know this port number and the address of the gateway to communicate with the network-internal service. Often, the port numbers of well-known Internet services, such as port number 80 for web services (HTTP), are used in port forwarding, so that common Internet services may be implemented on hosts within private networks.