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by DetailLover on December 11th, 2006

DetailLover

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Computer Networking Q: Please can you explain to me what is meant by the term "port" in this context (not the physical connection ports at the back of a computer)?

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  • by ChrisDG on December 11th, 2006

    ChrisDG

    OK, think of it in this way. To get from A to B you must drive on a road. Using a motorway (or highway if US), since it is the Information Superhighway we are on about anyway, that road will have many lanes. All can carry traffic, and all will end up at the same destination e.g. your computer. But now imagine that only cars can use one lane, another can only be used by buses, another can only be used by bikes.

    Each of these lanes is a port. So particular applications will use a particular port. If Internet Explorer is using one port, than another program cannot use the same, or there would be a conflict (road accident). Does this help?

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    • Yes it does - thanks. But what happens if I bough a computer and never connected to anything (no internet etc) other than a printer via a cable. Are those ports still required for software and internal reasons?

      DetailLover

      by DetailLover on December 11th, 2006

    • Also, if the information is destined for certain applications, why can't those applications recognise the data relevant to them, from all that is coming in, from all the other data?

      DetailLover

      by DetailLover on December 11th, 2006

    • I fully understand the analogy by ChrisDG above.To refresh the thoughts a bit,I assume that ports carry different bandwidths of data like VoIP.Can somebody justify my assumptions please.
      As you mentioned,if IE is using one port,then another program cannot use the same.Does it mean that every program has its unique port always?Can Skype use the same port next time when Explorer is not using it?

      Misheck_K1329

      by Misheck_K1329 on November 27th, 2010

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