TCPUDP Port Functions

TCP/UDP Port Functions

Each TCP/IP protocol or application has a port associated with it. When a communication is received, the target port number is checked to determine which protocol or service it is destined for. The request is then forwarded to that protocol or service. Take, for example, HTTP, whose assigned port number is 80. When a Web browser forms a request for a web page, the request is sent to port 80 on the target system. When the target system receives the request, it examines the port number and when it sees that the port is 80, it forwards the request to the Web server application.

TCP/IP has 65,535 ports available with 0 to 1023 being labeled as the well-known ports. Although a detailed understanding of the 65,535 ports is not necessary for the Network+ exam, it is important to understand the numbers of some of the well-known ports, as administration often requires you to specify port assignments when working with applications and configuring services. Table 5.7 shows some of the most common port assignments.

Table 5.7. TCP/IP Port Assignments for Commonly Used Protocols

Protocol	Port Assignment
FTP	20
FTP	21
SSH	22
Telnet	23
SMTP	25
DNS	53
TFTP	69
HTTP	80
POP3	110
NNTP	119
NTP	123
IMAP4	143
HTTPS	443

For the Network+ exam, you should concentrate on the information provided in this table, and you should be able to answer any port-related questions you might receive.

The term well-known ports identifies the ports ranging from 0 to 1023. When CompTIA states "identify the well-known ports," this is what it is referring to.

You might have noticed in Table 5.7 that two ports are associated with FTP. Port 20 is considered the data port, whereas Port 21 is considered the control port. In practical use, FTP connections use port 21. Port 20 is rarely used in modern implementations.