PORT 8080???

Kerry_20

What do we need to know about port 8080 for the network+ exam? What exactly is this port?

--Kerry

walid97

I guess it is just an alternative to port 80.
Usually used for proxy request.

Ricka182

You don't need to know 8080 for Net+. You can check IANA Ports for all the ports used today. You can check here for some common protocols and their associated ports, both of which you'll need to know.

Webmaster

Also try our Identifying Well-known ports quiz here.

ucanbbreached

port 8080 is another port typically used for web servers. Port 80 is the well known registered port for HTTP. However, UNIX/LINUX web servers such as apache and older netscape default to 8080. I guess it was initially done back in the late 80's/90's for some security-through-obscurity because it was different from the expected port 80. And it stuck for UNIX/LINUX default.

bwolfe

Basically its a UNIX thing. Ports below 1024 are priviledged ports meaning they require 'root' access to start a particular service listening to one of these ports. So when your Apache web server is started listening to port 80 it's doing so with root authority. 8080 provides an alternative to port 80 in cases where you want to start a web server without 'root' authority. Normally web connections only begin at port 80 anyways and are typically bumped to a port over the 1024 port once a session has begun.

And why might it be good to avoid starting a web service listening to port 80 with 'root' authority? For the same reason you should never browse the web from your 'root' account. Security.

Now the actual reason port 8080 became a typical proxy address for port 80 was probably more a matter of convenience (so non-root administrators could start a web service) but more recently security concerns are probably the driving force behind the use of port 8080.

orissa

I passed Net+ last week, and for everyones information I did have test question about port 8080. I answered it used for Proxy.

Tks

orissa