- `iptables`. I have went though the manual of Iptables and known some basic concepts, e.g. chain, table, hook, rule and targets. In the Linux ecosystem, iptables is a widely used firewall tool that interfaces with the kernel’s netfilter packet filtering framework. 

- `route table`. In Linux, there is another table `route table`. 

I am trying to figure out the relation between them and put them in one big picture.

Here is a nice diagram to show the flow of iptables, there are two `routing` stages. in which step, will kernel take advantage of "route table"? the `route` step?

[![enter image description here][1]][1]





## Reference

1. [DigitalOcean: A Deep Dive into Iptables and Netfilter Architecture](https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/a-deep-dive-into-iptables-and-netfilter-architecture)
2. I have read this question "[StackOverflow: What's the difference between iptables vs route?](https://superuser.com/questions/419659/iptables-vs-route)", but it didn't answer my question.


 [1]: https://i.sstatic.net/a6IYi.png