From 9aab7a32347e58436892259d05ba8cbcc3031467 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: miloschwartz Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:15:48 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] update nat explanation --- manage/clients/understanding-clients.mdx | 4 +++- 1 file changed, 3 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/manage/clients/understanding-clients.mdx b/manage/clients/understanding-clients.mdx index 5c7752d..2bced33 100644 --- a/manage/clients/understanding-clients.mdx +++ b/manage/clients/understanding-clients.mdx @@ -61,7 +61,9 @@ Clients can relay traffic through a Pangolin server - through Gerbil specificall ### NAT Hole Punching -While functional, it does not always connect reliably and can fall back to relaying. We plan to work to improve the reliability over time by implementing more methods for those behind CGNAT or hard nats. +NAT hole punching establishes a direct peer-to-peer connection between the client and site, bypassing the need to route traffic through the Pangolin server. The server coordinates the initial connection by helping both peers discover each other's network addresses, allowing them to establish a direct tunnel through their respective NATs and firewalls. + +If the site and client are unable to hole punch, they fall back to relaying through your Pangolin server. Take a look at [some things you can do to improve reliability](/manage/sites/configure-site#nat-traversal-tweaks) if you are not getting reliable hole punching.