What Does Port Forwarding Mean?

Port forwarding is a networking technique through which a gateway or similar device transmits all incoming communication/traffic of a specific port to the same port on any internal network node. Port forwarding enables an external source network or system to connect to an internal source node/port, which typically connects to Internet services and an internal private LAN.

Port forwarding is also known as port mapping, tunneling or punch through.

Techopedia Explains Port Forwarding