Iptables: Explanations, options & examples

Configuration file location and command commands

Configuration file

The iptables configuration file is located at: /etc/sysconfig/iptables. The contains all the tables, chains and rules. Additional configurations can be added directly to this file or via command line tools.

Common Commands

# start iptables
service iptables start	

# get current status
service iptables status

# stop iptables
service iptables stop

# restart iptables
service iptables restart

# save any newly added rules
service iptables save

Structure of /etc/sysconfig/iptables

iptables includes 3 default tables:

• *filter - Default table for filtering packets
• *nat - Default table for Network Address Translation
• *mangle - Default table used for specific type of packet alteration