You only need a couple of things to get IPTables going, these include:
A 2.4.x series kernel with the Netfilter modules compiled.
(I will deal with the Netfilter code as modules but feel free to compile
them in and ignore the module information.)
This HOWTO does not
cover compiling and/or installing IPTables. Usually this is pre-installed
with a 2.4.x distro and if not then please consult the Netfilter website
for more information.
Basic knowledge about networking; ports, packets, etc.
