What Is Port In Networking?
A port is a logical connection point at which networking software is able to communicate with other software on the same computer or on a different computer.
Ports are identified by a unique number, and each port is associated with a particular type of network activity. For example,
- port 80 is typically used for HTTP traffic, and
- port 21 is typically used for FTP traffic.
When you configure your firewall, you can specify which ports are open and which are closed.
Types of Ports in Networking
There are three types of ports in networking:
- Physical,
- Logical, and
- Virtual.
Physical ports are the actual hardware interface on a device, such as an Ethernet port. Logical ports are the software-defined interfaces that are used to send and receive data, such as a TCP port. Virtual ports are created by software and do not have a physical counterpart, such as a VPN port.
What is Port in Computer ?
A port is a connection point for attaching peripherals to a computer. The port may be physical or virtual. A physical port is a hole or connection on the back of the computer where a cable plugs in. A virtual port is a software program that makes a physical port appear to be on a different computer.
Network Port Lists
A network port is an identifier assigned to a network service, which is used to distinguish between the different services offered by a server.
Commonly used network ports are assigned to well-known services such as HTTP (port 80) and SMTP (port 25).
When a server receives a request from a client, it looks at the port number to determine which service the client is requesting.
There are three types of port numbers: well-known, registered, and dynamic or private.
Well-known port numbers are those from 0 through 1023.
Registered port numbers are those from 1024 through 49151.
Dynamic or private port numbers are those from 49152 through 65535.
Some well-known port numbers are:
- FTP - 20
- SSH - 22
- TELNET - 23
- SMTP - 25
- DNS - 53
- HTTP - 80
- POP3 - 110
- IMAP - 143
- SNMP - 161
Some registered port numbers are:
- RDP - 3389
- LDP - 646
- SIP - 5060
Some dynamic or private port numbers are:
- EPP - 1027
- NetBIOS - 137-139
The port numbers help the server to differentiate between the different services that it offers. Each service has a different port number so that the server can direct the client to the correct service.
Common Port Numbers
There are a few well-known port numbers that are used by a variety of applications. Some of the most common are
- port 80 for HTTP traffic,
- port 443 for HTTPS traffic, and
- port 22 for SSH traffic.
These are just a few of the many port numbers that are in use today.
Port Settings
Port settings are the options that are available to configure the selected port. The options vary depending on the type of port that is selected.
For example, the options for a COM port include the baud rate, data bits, parity, and stop bits. The options for a TCP/IP port include the IP address and port number.
What are Ports and Protocols?
Ports are endpoints on a computer to which applications can connect. They are numbered so that the computer knows which application to forward data to.
Protocols are sets of rules that govern how data is exchanged between computers. They define how the data is formatted, how it is sent, and how it is received.
What is Protocols in Networking?
A protocol is a standard set of rules that govern how devices on a network communicate with each other. Protocols define how data is formatted, how it is exchanged, and how any errors that occur are handled. Common protocols include TCP/IP, which is used on the Internet, and Ethernet, which is used on many local area networks (LANs).
The User Datagram Protocol (UDP), and the Internet Protocol (IP).
Difference between TCP and UDP.
There are two types of Internet Protocol (IP) traffic. They are Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP). Both have their advantages and disadvantages.
TCP is connection-oriented. That means that a connection is established and maintained between two computers until the communication is complete. This makes TCP more reliable. But it also makes it slower because of all the handshaking that goes on behind the scenes.
UDP is connectionless. That means that each computer just sends out its packets and hopes they reach the right destination. There is no check to see if they arrive. This makes UDP faster. But it also makes it less reliable.
So, when you are choosing which protocol to use, you have to decide which is more important to you: speed or reliability.
What is Router?
A router is a networking device that forwards data packets between computer networks. Routers perform the traffic directing functions on the Internet. A data packet is typically forwarded from one router to another router through the networks that constitute the internetwork until it reaches its destination node. A router is connected to two or more data lines from different networks. When a data packet comes in on one of the lines, the router reads the network address information in the packet to determine the ultimate destination of the packet and what line it should go out of.
What is Socket in Networking?
A socket is an endpoint for communication between two computers or devices. It can also be thought of as a virtual pipe that connects two programs running on the same or different computer systems. Sockets are commonly used in client-server applications, where one program (the client) makes a request to another program (the server) and the server responds to the client.
