What is Network Port?

Introduction to Ports

A port is a physical docking point using which an external device can be connected to the computer. It can also be programmatic docking point through which information flows from a program to the computer or over the Internet.

Network Port

A network port which is provided by the Transport Layer protocols of Internet Protocol suite, such as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Diagram Protocol (UDP) is a number which serving endpoint communication between two computers.

Port Numbers

To determine what protocol incoming traffic should be directed to, different port numbers are used. They allow a single host with a single IP address to run network services. Each port number have a distinct service, and for each host can have 65535 ports per IP address. Internet Assigned Numbers Authority  (IANA) is responsible for managing the uses of these ports.

Categories of Ports

There are three categories for ports defined by IANA:

1. Well-Known Ports (0 to 1023)

2. Registered Ports (1024 to 49151)

1024 to 49151 registered ports assigned by IANA to a specific service upon application by a requesting entity.

3. Dynamic or Private Ports (49152 to 65535)

These ports range from 49,152 to 65,535 and can be used by private or customer services or for temporary purposes.