Ports and protocols
What is a port?
A port is a virtual point where network connections start and end. Ports are software-based and managed by a computer's operating system. Each port is associated with a specific process or service. Ports allow computers to easily differentiate between different kinds of traffic: emails go to a different port than webpages, for instance, even though both reach a computer over the same Internet connection.
What is a port number?
Ports are standardized across all network-connected devices, with each port assigned a number. Most ports are reserved for certain protocols — for example, all Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) messages go to port 80. While IP addresses enable messages to go to and from specific devices, port numbers allow targeting of specific services or applications within those devices.
How do ports make network connections more efficient?
Vastly different types of data flow to and from a computer over the same network connection. The use of ports helps computers understand what to do with the data they receive.
Suppose Bob transfers an MP3 audio recording to Alice using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). If Alice's computer passed the MP3 file data to Alice's email application, the email application would not know how to interpret it. But because Bob's file transfer uses the port designated for FTP (port 21), Alice's computer is able to receive and store the file.
Meanwhile, Alice's computer can simultaneously load HTTP webpages using port 80, even though both the webpage files and the MP3 sound file flow to Alice's computer over the same WiFi connection.
Are ports part of the network layer?
The OSI model is a conceptual model of how the Internet works. It divides different Internet services and processes into 7 layers. These layers are: