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  • so you are saying the Linux route table will be used on both highlighted steps in the diagram, am I understanding correctly? Commented Apr 4, 2022 at 7:15
  • Input routing is looking at "does this packet belong to this host" and "are any applications listening on this source address and source port", so if it is using the routing tables, it's not using it the same way. Commented Apr 4, 2022 at 11:29
  • @user10489 exactly, so the whole "route" step in this case also includes the decision "is this for a local interface, or do I need to forward it", which is included in the "where" question. So the two "route" steps are not the same. Commented Apr 4, 2022 at 15:35
  • @dirkt Thanks for a really helpful post. Quick follow-up: You say iptables should not be used for routing, but is that not exactly what the nat table does with DNAT, i.e. translates the destination to another IP? Commented Mar 12 at 16:08