Network ports are virtual endpoints for communication. Each port number (0-65535) identifies a specific process or service. Here's a comprehensive reference of the most commonly used ports.
Port Ranges
Well-known ports (0-1023): Reserved for common services, require root/admin privileges.
Registered ports (1024-49151): Assigned by IANA for specific applications.
Dynamic/Private ports (49152-65535): Used for temporary connections.
Essential Ports
| Port | Protocol | Service | Description | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | TCP | FTP Data | File Transfer Protocol - data transfer | file |
| 21 | TCP | FTP Control | File Transfer Protocol - commands | file |
| 22 | TCP | SSH | Secure Shell - encrypted remote access | remote |
| 23 | TCP | Telnet | Unencrypted remote access (deprecated) | remote |
| 25 | TCP | SMTP | Simple Mail Transfer Protocol | |
| 53 | TCP/UDP | DNS | Domain Name System | network |
| 67 | UDP | DHCP Server | Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol | network |
| 68 | UDP | DHCP Client | DHCP client communication | network |
| 69 | UDP | TFTP | Trivial File Transfer Protocol | file |
| 80 | TCP | HTTP | Hypertext Transfer Protocol (web) | web |
| 110 | TCP | POP3 | Post Office Protocol v3 | |
| 123 | UDP | NTP | Network Time Protocol | network |
| 143 | TCP | IMAP | Internet Message Access Protocol | |
| 161 | UDP | SNMP | Simple Network Management Protocol | network |
| 389 | TCP/UDP | LDAP | Lightweight Directory Access Protocol | directory |
| 443 | TCP | HTTPS | HTTP Secure (TLS/SSL encrypted) | web |
| 445 | TCP | SMB | Server Message Block (Windows file sharing) | file |
| 465 | TCP | SMTPS | SMTP over SSL (legacy) | |
| 587 | TCP | SMTP Submission | Email submission (with STARTTLS) | |
| 636 | TCP | LDAPS | LDAP over SSL | directory |
| 993 | TCP | IMAPS | IMAP over SSL | |
| 995 | TCP | POP3S | POP3 over SSL | |
| 1433 | TCP | MS SQL | Microsoft SQL Server | database |
| 1521 | TCP | Oracle DB | Oracle Database | database |
| 3306 | TCP | MySQL | MySQL / MariaDB Database | database |
| 3389 | TCP | RDP | Remote Desktop Protocol (Windows) | remote |
| 5432 | TCP | PostgreSQL | PostgreSQL Database | database |
| 5900 | TCP | VNC | Virtual Network Computing | remote |
| 6379 | TCP | Redis | Redis in-memory database | database |
| 8080 | TCP | HTTP Alt | Alternative HTTP port / Proxy | web |
| 8443 | TCP | HTTPS Alt | Alternative HTTPS port | web |
| 27017 | TCP | MongoDB | MongoDB Database | database |
Quick Reference by Use Case
Web Development: 80 (HTTP), 443 (HTTPS), 8080, 3000, 5000
Email Setup: 25, 465, 587 (SMTP), 110, 995 (POP3), 143, 993 (IMAP)
Remote Access: 22 (SSH), 3389 (RDP), 5900 (VNC)
Databases: 3306 (MySQL), 5432 (PostgreSQL), 27017 (MongoDB), 6379 (Redis)