A device and method for allocating the same Internet protocol (IP) address
to all information terminals or hosts connected to a specific local
network, which allows the hosts in the local network to gain access to
the Internet while the hosts share a single IP address. The device
includes a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) client, a local
access point, and a DHCP server spoofer. The DHCP client is allocated an
IP address through a DHCP message communication with an Internet service
provider. The Internet service provider includes a DHCP server for
allocating IP addresses to the hosts and an Internet access gateway. The
local access point includes a hardware address port translation (HAPT)
module and a local IP address translation (LIAT) module. The HAPT module
modifies a source medium access control (MAC) address and port number of
a frame received from each host, stores the modified result in a HAPT
table, and recovers a destination MAC address and port number of a frame
received from the Internet service provider, referring to the HAPT table.
The LIAT module prevents a collision occurring because the hosts have the
same public IP address. The DHCP server spoofer implements a DHCP server
function to allocate an IP address to each host.