Questions on state

[Jeff Simmons <jsimmons@goblin.punk.net>]

Sorry to bother anyone, but I'm new to iptables, and I'm debugging a working 
production machine, so I can't really test things too much. :-(

Is a connection ONLY added to the state table when the first packet matches a 
rule that contains the --state NEW directive, or can it happen in some other 
way?

When --state INVALID is matched, is it done only on the source and destination 
addresses and ports, or is something else also involved?

Are NAT 'states' available for examination anywhere, like 
/proc/net/ip_conntrack?

Thanks for any assistance.

-- 
Jeff Simmons                                   jsimmons@goblin.punk.net
     Simmons Consulting - Network Engineering, Administration, Security

"You guys, I don't hear any noise. Are you sure you're doing it right?"
	-- My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult