Networking Protocols & Port Numbers

An educational reference chart designed to help students and IT professionals memorize common networking protocols and their associated port numbers, laid out as a grid of stylized cards.

Category: Networking Protocols: 19 Last updated: 2026-07-23

Overview

This wiki article documents the infographic "Networking Protocols & Port Numbers", a visual cheat sheet that maps protocol names to their default transport ports. The original chart uses color-coded cards and representative icons to aid memorization, making it a versatile reference for network administrators, software developers, and students preparing for certifications such as CompTIA Network+ or CCNA.

Design Approach

Rather than a plain table, the infographic uses three techniques to improve recall and readability:

■ Visual Categorization

Color-coded card headers group protocols by function — web, mail, directory services, database, and remote access — making the chart scannable at a glance.

★ Iconography

Each protocol is paired with a representative symbol (folder, globe, lock, clock) so visual learners can associate function with an icon.

■ Comprehensive Range

Spans standard web and mail protocols, directory services (LDAP), and database ports (MySQL, PostgreSQL) — useful for both ops and dev.

Protocol Reference

All protocols from the original infographic, organized by category with their full name and default port number.

Web & File Transfer

📁 FTP

File Transfer Protocol

Transfers files between client and server over TCP.

🔒 SSH

Secure Shell

Encrypted remote login and command execution.

🔒 SFTP

Secure File Transfer Protocol

File transfer over SSH (secure channel).

📁 TFTP

Trivial File Transfer Protocol

Lightweight file transfer over UDP (no auth).

🌐 HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol

Foundation of data communication on the web.

🔒 HTTPS

HTTP Secure

HTTP over TLS/SSL encrypted connection.

443

🌐 DHCP

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

Automatically assigns IP addresses to devices.

67 / 68

🌐 DNS

Domain Name System

Resolves domain names to IP addresses.

Mail Protocols

✉ SMTP

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

Sends outgoing email between servers.

📬 POP3

Post Office Protocol 3

Retrieves email from a mail server (download).

110

📬 IMAP

Internet Message Access Protocol

Retrieves email and keeps it on the server.

143

Directory, Time & Management

📖 LDAP

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

Accesses and maintains directory services (e.g. Active Directory).

389

🔒 LDAPS

LDAP Secure

LDAP over TLS/SSL encrypted connection.

636

🕓 NTP

Network Time Protocol

Synchronizes clocks over a network.

123

📈 SNMP

Simple Network Management Protocol

Monitors and manages network devices.

161

💻 SMB

Server Message Block

File sharing, printer sharing, and inter-process communication.

445

Database & Remote Access

🗃 MySQL / MariaDB

MySQL / MariaDB Database

Popular open-source relational database systems.

3306

🗃 PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL Database

Advanced open-source relational database.

5432

🖥 RDP

Remote Desktop Protocol

Provides graphical remote access to Windows machines.

3389

Quick Reference Table

All protocols in a single sortable table format.

Protocol	Full Name	Port	Category
FTP	File Transfer Protocol	21	File Transfer
SSH	Secure Shell	22	Remote Access / Secure
SFTP	Secure File Transfer Protocol	22	File Transfer / Secure
SMTP	Simple Mail Transfer Protocol	25	Mail
DNS	Domain Name System	53	Web / Infrastructure
DHCP	Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol	67 / 68	Web / Infrastructure
TFTP	Trivial File Transfer Protocol	69	File Transfer
HTTP	Hypertext Transfer Protocol	80	Web
POP3	Post Office Protocol 3	110	Mail
NTP	Network Time Protocol	123	Infrastructure
IMAP	Internet Message Access Protocol	143	Mail
SNMP	Simple Network Management Protocol	161	Management
LDAP	Lightweight Directory Access Protocol	389	Directory
HTTPS	HTTP Secure	443	Web / Secure
SMB	Server Message Block	445	File Sharing
LDAPS	LDAP Secure	636	Directory / Secure
MySQL/MariaDB	MySQL / MariaDB Database	3306	Database
RDP	Remote Desktop Protocol	3389	Remote Access
PostgreSQL	PostgreSQL Database	5432	Database

Quick Port Check

Test if a service is listening on its expected port using ss or netstat:

# Check listening TCP ports on Linux
ss -tlnp | grep -E ':(21|22|25|53|80|443|3306|3389|5432)\b'

# Scan a remote host for common ports with nc
for port in 22 80 443 3306 5432; do
  nc -zv example.com "$port" 2>&1 | grep -E 'succeeded|open'
done

# Quick HTTP check (visible in curl)
curl -sI https://example.com | head -5