Understanding common network ports and protocols

Introduction

Network ports are numbered endpoints used by protocols to identify specific services on a server. When configuring firewalls, troubleshooting connectivity, or setting up services, knowing the correct port numbers is essential. This article is a reference guide to the most commonly used ports.

Web and file transfer

Port Protocol Service Description
80 TCP HTTP Unencrypted web traffic
443 TCP HTTPS Encrypted web traffic (SSL/TLS)
8080 TCP HTTP alt Alternative HTTP port (proxies, dev servers)
8443 TCP HTTPS alt Alternative HTTPS port
20 TCP FTP data FTP data transfer channel
21 TCP FTP FTP control/command channel
22 TCP SFTP Secure file transfer (runs over SSH)
990 TCP FTPS FTP over implicit TLS

Email

Port Protocol Service Description
25 TCP SMTP Sending email (server-to-server). Often blocked by ISPs.
465 TCP SMTPS SMTP over implicit TLS (legacy, still widely used)
587 TCP SMTP submission Sending email from client to server (STARTTLS). Recommended for mail clients.
110 TCP POP3 Receiving email (downloads and deletes from server)
995 TCP POP3S POP3 over TLS
143 TCP IMAP Receiving email (syncs with server, recommended)
993 TCP IMAPS IMAP over TLS

Remote access

Port Protocol Service Description
22 TCP SSH Secure shell access and file transfer
3389 TCP/UDP RDP Windows Remote Desktop Protocol
5900 TCP VNC Virtual Network Computing (remote desktop)

Database

Port Protocol Service Description
3306 TCP MySQL/MariaDB MySQL and MariaDB database connections
5432 TCP PostgreSQL PostgreSQL database connections
27017 TCP MongoDB MongoDB database connections
6379 TCP Redis Redis in-memory data store

DNS and network services

Port Protocol Service Description
53 TCP/UDP DNS Domain name resolution
67/68 UDP DHCP Dynamic IP address assignment
123 UDP NTP Network time synchronization
161/162 UDP SNMP Network monitoring and management

Hosting and control panels

Port Protocol Service Description
2082 TCP cPanel cPanel web interface (HTTP)
2083 TCP cPanel cPanel web interface (HTTPS)
2086 TCP WHM WHM web interface (HTTP)
2087 TCP WHM WHM web interface (HTTPS)
2095 TCP Webmail cPanel Webmail (HTTP)
2096 TCP Webmail cPanel Webmail (HTTPS)
2222 TCP DirectAdmin DirectAdmin web interface
8006 TCP Proxmox Proxmox VE web interface
4083 TCP Virtualizor Virtualizor admin panel

VPN

Port Protocol Service Description
1194 UDP/TCP OpenVPN OpenVPN connections
51820 UDP WireGuard WireGuard VPN connections
500 UDP IKE IPSec VPN key exchange
4500 UDP IPSec NAT-T IPSec NAT traversal

Security reminder

Only open the ports that your services require. Database ports (3306, 5432, 27017, 6379) should never be open to the public internet — restrict them to specific IP addresses using your firewall. See our guide on How to configure a firewall (UFW) for instructions.