python Python Bindings for IPtables: Iptables is the tool that is used to manage netfilter, the standard packet filtering and manipulation framework under Linux. As the iptables manpage puts it: Iptables is used to set up, maintain, and inspect the tables of IPv4 packet filter rules in the Linux kernel. Several different tables may be defined. Each table contains a number of built-in chains and may also contain user-defined chains. Each chain is a list of rules which can match a set of packets. Each rule specifies what to do with a packet that matches. This is called a target, which may be a jump to a user-defined chain in the same table. Python-iptables provides python bindings to iptables under Linux. Interoperability with iptables is achieved via using the iptables C libraries (libiptc, libxtables, and the iptables extensions), not calling the iptables binary and parsing its output.