Please Whitelist This Site?

I know everyone hates ads. But please understand that I am providing premium content for free that takes hundreds of hours of time to research and write. I don't want to go to a pay-only model like some sites, but when more and more people block ads, I end up working for free. And I have a family to support, just like you. :)

If you like The TCP/IP Guide, please consider the download version. It's priced very economically and you can read all of it in a convenient format without ads.

If you want to use this site for free, I'd be grateful if you could add the site to the whitelist for Adblock. To do so, just open the Adblock menu and select "Disable on tcpipguide.com". Or go to the Tools menu and select "Adblock Plus Preferences...". Then click "Add Filter..." at the bottom, and add this string: "@@||tcpipguide.com^$document". Then just click OK.

Thanks for your understanding!

Sincerely, Charles Kozierok
Author and Publisher, The TCP/IP Guide


NOTE: Using software to mass-download the site degrades the server and is prohibited.
If you want to read The TCP/IP Guide offline, please consider licensing it. Thank you.

The Book is Here... and Now On Sale!

Searchable, convenient, complete TCP/IP information.
The TCP/IP Guide

Custom Search







Table Of Contents  The TCP/IP Guide
 9  TCP/IP Lower-Layer (Interface, Internet and Transport) Protocols (OSI Layers 2, 3 and 4)
      9  TCP/IP Transport Layer Protocols
           9  Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
                9  TCP/IP Transport Layer Protocol (TCP and UDP) Addressing: Ports and Sockets

Previous Topic/Section
TCP/IP Application Assignments and Server Port Number Ranges: Well-Known, Registered and Dynamic/Private Ports
Previous Page
Pages in Current Topic/Section
1
2
3
Next Page
TCP/IP Sockets and Socket Pairs: Process and Connection Identification
Next Topic/Section

TCP/IP Client (Ephemeral) Ports and Client/Server Application Port Use
(Page 2 of 3)

Ephemeral Port Number Assignment

Ephemeral port numbers are assigned as needed to processes by the TCP/IP software. Obviously, each client process running concurrently needs to use a unique ephemeral port number, so the TCP and UDP layers must keep track of which are in use. These port numbers are generally assigned in a pseudo-random manner from a reserved pool of numbers. I say “pseudo-random” because there is no specific meaning to an ephemeral port number assigned to a process, so a random one could be selected for each client process. However, since it is necessary to reuse the port numbers in this pool over time, many implementations use a set of rules to minimize the chance of confusion due to reuse.

Consider a client process that just used ephemeral port number 4,121 to send a request, received a reply, and then terminated. Suppose we immediately reallocate 4,121 to some other process. However, the server accessed by the prior user of port 4,121 for some reason sent an extra reply. It would go to the new process, creating confusion. To avoid this, it is wise to wait as long as possible before reusing port number 4,121 for another client process. Some implementations will therefore cycle through the port numbers in to ensure the maximum amount of time elapses between consecutive uses of the same ephemeral port number.

Key Concept: Well-known and registered port numbers are needed for server processes since a client must know the server’s port number to initiate contact. In contrast, client processes can use any port number. Each time a client process initiates a UDP or TCP communication it is assigned a temporary, or ephemeral, port number to use for that conversation. These port numbers are assigned in a pseudo-random way, since the exact number used is not important, as long as each process has a different number.


Ephemeral Port Number Ranges

The range of port numbers that is used for ephemeral ports on a device also depends on the implementation. The “classic” ephemeral port range was established by the TCP/IP implementation in BSD (Berkeley Standard Distribution) UNIX, where it was defined as 1,024 to 4,999, providing 3,976 ephemeral ports. This seems like a very large number, and it is indeed usually more than enough for a typical client. However, the size of this number can be deceiving. Many applications use more than one process, and it is theoretically possible to run out of ephemeral port numbers on a very busy IP device. For this reason, most of the time the ephemeral port number range can be changed. The default range may be different for other operating systems.

Just as well-known and registered port numbers are used for server processes, ephemeral port numbers are for client processes only. This means that the use of a range of addresses from 1,024 to 4,999 does not conflict with the use of that same range for registered port numbers as seen in the previous topic.


Previous Topic/Section
TCP/IP Application Assignments and Server Port Number Ranges: Well-Known, Registered and Dynamic/Private Ports
Previous Page
Pages in Current Topic/Section
1
2
3
Next Page
TCP/IP Sockets and Socket Pairs: Process and Connection Identification
Next Topic/Section

If you find The TCP/IP Guide useful, please consider making a small Paypal donation to help the site, using one of the buttons below. You can also donate a custom amount using the far right button (not less than $1 please, or PayPal gets most/all of your money!) In lieu of a larger donation, you may wish to consider purchasing a download license of The TCP/IP Guide. Thanks for your support!
Donate $2
Donate $5
Donate $10
Donate $20
Donate $30
Donate: $



Home - Table Of Contents - Contact Us

The TCP/IP Guide (http://www.TCPIPGuide.com)
Version 3.0 - Version Date: September 20, 2005

© Copyright 2001-2005 Charles M. Kozierok. All Rights Reserved.
Not responsible for any loss resulting from the use of this site.