Network Ports and Protocols

Ports are crucial endpoints in network communication, facilitating the transfer of data between devices. They allow different services and applications to operate concurrently on a network device by assigning specific numbers to each service. This organization ensures accurate routing of data packets based on predefined protocols. Ports enable essential network functions like web browsing, email, and remote access, making them vital for effective network management and troubleshooting.

Most Common ports

Database and other ports

Well-known ports:

• These ports are assigned by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and typically range from 0 to 1024. They are reserved for specific protocols or services.
  • Port 80: HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
  • Port 443: HTTPS (HTTP Secure)
  • Port 25: SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
  • Port 22: SSH (Secure Shell)
  • Port 21: FTP (File Transfer Protocol)

Registered ports:

• These ports are also assigned by IANA, but they range from 1024 to 49151. They are used by various applications and services but are not as universally recognized as well-known ports.
  • Port 3306: MySQL Database
  • Port 5432: PostgreSQL Database
  • Port 8080: HTTP Alternate (often used for proxy and caching servers)
  • port 27017: MongoDB Database
  • Port 5060: SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)

Dynamic or Private ports:

• These ports range from 49152 to 65535 and are available for general use. They are often used as ephemeral ports for outgoing connections.
  • Ports used for client-side connections that are dynamically assigned by the operating system.
  • These ports are typically not associated with any specific protocol or service beforehand.

Common service ports:

• These are ports that are commonly used for specific services but may not fall strictly into the well-known or registered categories.
  • Port 53: DNS (Domain Name System)
  • Port 110: POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3)
  • Port 143: IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol)
  • Port 389: LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)
  • Port 1194: OpenVPN

Additional info:

The syslog protocol is defined in RFC 5424 and is used to transport messages from devices to the syslog collector over IP networks. The protocol uses the connectionless transport protocol UDP by default over port 514.

Bottom Line

These are just a few examples, and there are many more ports used for various networking protocols and services. Understanding port categories can help in configuring firewalls, routing rules, and troubleshooting network connectivity issues.