What is port and port number ?
- One of the circuit connection point on a front end processor or local intelligence control is called port.
- In computer networks, the term port can refer either physical or virtual connection point.
Characteristics of Ports
A port has the following characteristics −
- External devices are connected to a computer using cables and ports.
- Ports are slots on the motherboard into which a cable of external device is plugged in.
- Examples of external devices attached via ports are the mouse, keyboard, monitor, microphone, speakers, etc.
Port Number
- A port number is the logical address of each application or process that uses a network or the Internet to communicate.
- A port number uniquely identifies a network-based application on a computer.
- Each application/program is allocated a 16-bit integer port number.
- This number is assigned automatically by the OS, manually by the user or is set as a default for some popular applications.
