HostArmada Web Hosting Knowledge Base

Knowledge is power! Use that power and achieve total and unconditional control over the Web Hosting Services!

What ports do services use on a typical cPanel server?

You have undoubtedly heard the term "service port" or "port" in the past, especially if you have been using web hosting servers for a while. What does the port mean, and what does it represent? In this article, we will do our best and explain this and also give you the port numbers of the most commonly used services on a cPanel server.

What are ports?

Any machine connected to the internet distributes the services installed on it using numeric ports. Each instance of service runs on a specific port, serving as a communication point between clients and the server. When you use a service from your personal computer to send an email, for example, the program you are using knows which port to use to deliver your message.

A vivid association of ports would be the customs. Each checkpoint has a unique purpose - one of them serves cars, the other one may accommodate motorcycles, and the third Trucks or Vehicles that are transporting a specific load.

TPC or UDP?

Information is transmitted via ports using either the TCP or UDP protocols.

TPC is by far more reliable as it provides a connection-based proliferation of data. How it works is that two points connect, and the data starts streaming through uninterrupted. Interruption can occur ONLY if the connection between them is lost or one of the servers managing the link goes down.

UDP is a protocol that does not require an established connection. The information is sent regardless of the status of the remote server. The downside is the fact that there is no telling if the data will ever reach its destination, in what order will it reach it, and in what condition.

Another critical difference between the two revolves around data streaming. TPC supports seamless data transfer. No bit of separation is present resulting in smoothening the viewing and listening experience. The UPD streamed packages are bound to arrive, however they do not do so individually. The first package sent may be received last, and the last one may be obtained first, which will cause a severe discrepancy between the collected data and the one you expect.

Hopefully, this brief explanation of TCP and UDP enlightens you about which protocol is better and can help you make a choice between them.

Port Range Groups

Ports are separated into three groups. Each group contains ports, based on the services they tend to. You may associate these groups with how "well-known" the service running on a specific port is.

  • 0 - 1023: "Famous port numbers". They are usually occupied by the most widely utilized services, such as STMP, IMAP, MySQL, and Apache.
  • 1024 - 49151: "Available port numbers". These ports can be assigned to companies providing a specific service.
  • 49152 - 65536: "Up-for-grabs ports". Anyone can pretty much use the ports within this group.

cPanel server port utilization

Having gone over what a port represents and how the information is transmitted through them - it is time to cover the ports used by a typical cPanel server. Note that the majority of these ports correspond to the official ports utilized by the most renowned services present on any machine or operating system:

  • 21 - FTP service.
  • 22 - SSH service.
  • 25 - SMTP service.
  • 53 - DNS service.
  • 80 - HTTPD service.
  • 110 - POP3 service.
  • 143 - IMAP service.
  • 443 - HTTPD service over SSL.
  • 465 - SMTP service over SSL.
  • 579 - cPhulk service.
  • 587 - Exim service.
  • 993 - IMAP service over SSL.
  • 995 - POP3 service over SSL.
  • 2525 - SMTP service. (usually used by mobile devices)
  • 2082 - cPanel service.
  • 2083 - cPanel service over SSL.
  • 2086 - WHM service.
  • 2087 - WHM service over SSL.
  • 2095 - Webmail service.
  • 2096 - Webmail service over SSL.
  • 3306 - MySQL service.

Was this article useful and on point?

Find out more about HostArmada entire range of optimized Web Hosting Services and take action today on improving your website Loading Speed, Security, and overall Stability!