Network Ports Explained: A Beginner’s Guide

Video Description

In this video, I provide an overview of what network ports are, how they work, and when you need to know what ports you’re using. Check out some of my previous videos that are related to this one: Port Forwarding 101: What It Is and How It Works: https://youtu.be/YwDh2yv-J3w How to Set Up Port Forwarding on Your Router (TP-Link): https://youtu.be/TvhljC-M6Bg For more content on similar topics, check out my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs-hXDMwqs1Ri9Yh9QRgaqQ If you would like to read about other ways to improve your home network, check out my blog: https://www.network-from-home.com 0:30 What are network ports? 2:10 Categories of network ports 5:35 Example of network ports This post contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a commission should you choose to sign up for a program or make a purchase using my link. Equipment I used in this video: 🎥: https://amzn.to/43POu01 🎙️: https://amzn.to/4kU1SXU What is a network port? Network ports are used to help traffic get to the right destination. When two connected devices communicate with each other, their communications are sent to a specific port based upon the service that’s being used. For example, when you send a request for a website to a web server, the port number used for the communication will be either 80 (http) or 443 (https). When the device sends the request for a webpage to a given web server, they will add the port to the end of the request to identify to the web server what the requester is looking for. Upon receiving the request, the web server will know that the requester is looking for a web page because of the port that was identified for the communication. What are common port numbers? Common port numbers that you might be familiar with are as follows: •80/443: http/https traffic •21: file transfer protocol •3389: remote desktop protocol (RDP) •53: Domain Name System (DNS) requests •25: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) Conclusion If you have any questions about network ports and how they work, please leave a comment below.