What exactly is a port? What is this port going to?

Question

I mean, does it go to the processor, and anything input into it is processed accordingly? Or is each port proprietary to what its used for? Is this just a vast bank of open areas to the processor? Once again, be as detailed and technical as you like. I am smart enough to understand big words.

Answer 1

There are different definitions for a computer port.

Here's one:
"A logical connecting point for a process. Data is transmitted between processes through ports (or sockets). Each port provides queues for sending and receiving data. In an interface program network, each port has an Internet port number based on how it is being used. A particular port is identified with an Internet socket address, which is the combination of an Internet host address and a port number."
-source link 1

And here's 2 more:
"On computer and telecommunication devices, a port (noun) is generally a specific place for being physically connected to some other device, usually with a socket and plug of some kind. Typically, a personal computer is provided with one or more serial ports and usually one parallel port. The serial port supports sequential, one bit-at-a-time transmission to peripheral devices such as scanners and the parallel port supports multiple-bit-at-a-time transmission to devices such as printers.

2) In programming, a port (noun) is a "logical connection place" and specifically, using the Internet's protocol, TCP/IP, the way a client program specifies a particular server program on a computer in a network. Higher-level applications that use TCP/IP such as the Web protocol, Hypertext Transfer Protocol, have ports with preassigned numbers. These are known as "well-known ports" that have been assigned by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). Other application processes are given port numbers dynamically for each connection. When a service (server program) initially is started, it is said to bind to its designated port number. As any client program wants to use that server, it also must request to bind to the designated port number.

Port numbers are from 0 to 65536. Ports 0 to 1024 are reserved for use by certain privileged services. For the HTTP service, port 80 is defined as a default and it does not have to be specified in the Uniform Resource Locator (URL). "
-source link 2


I hope that helps you out.

Answer 2

Port as in hardware? Signal line that's all, a line on the circuit board carrying some data other than electricity.

Port as in Internet-speak? Think of your computer as a city, ports are docks inside a sort of an inlet created by IP to load/offload packets of data from some other sea-faring city (another computer over the Internet). Processors are like city governments they would have no interest in those packets anyway.

Of course you can get into the argument that the citizens of these computer cities have a collective IQ of zero and CPU has to come in to intervene and move data, so I suppose it does go to the processor some way.

Answer 3

Ports are the tunnels by records is transferred. There are literally ports and digital ports and the numbers selection in this occasion. There are extra beneficial than 65000 ports in a computing device. commonest are 25, one hundred ten ( Used for mail purpose), 23 (Telnet)....etc. placing out an undesirable port can deliver approximately hacking of your pc (Hackers use ports for entering right into a working laptop or pc). So think of two times earlier you permit your Antivirus open a port on our pc. :-)

Answer 4

A port is sort of a generic term for an "opening into the computer". They work in different ways but mostly they are for connecting peripherals into the computer.

As wikipedia says:
Computer port (hardware)
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Ports on the Apple iBook (Early 2003)
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Ports on the Apple iBook (Early 2003)

In computer hardware, a port serves as an interface between the computer and other computers or devices in the form of an electrically wired outlet on a piece of equipment into which a plug or cable connects. These hardware ports have different physical shapes such as male, female, round, rectangular, square, oblong, etc. There is some standardization to physical properties and function. For instance, most computers have a keyboard port (currently round, or telephone type), into which the keyboard is connected.

Hardware ports can almost always be divided into two groups:

* Serial ports send and receive one bit at a time via a single wire pair (Ground and +/-).
* Parallel ports send multiple bits at the same time over several sets of wires.

The system bus that holds circuit cards for a computer "Mother Board (MO)" is a form of parallel port. Note that light fiber, microwave, and other technologies (i.e. quantum) may have special cases.

Hardware port trunking (HPT) is a technology that allows multiple hardware ports to be aggregated into a single group, effectively creating a single connection with a higher bandwidth. This technology also provides a higher degree of fault tolerance. Compare this to Software Port Trunking (SPT) where two agents (websites, channels, etc.) are bonded into one with the same effectiveness, i.e. ISDN B1 (64K) plus B2 (64K) equals data throughput of 128K.

These are hardware ports, there are also software ports that allow computers to connect to eachother (TCP/IP etc)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_port_%28software%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_port_%28hardware%29

Answer 5

I agree that there are Hardware ports, but there also Software ports (OS ports) Some are used mostly for TCP/IP communications. Port :80 is your your typical browser port, port 21 is FTP, 25/110 is your POP3 and SMTP ports for e-mail. All which are controled by OS and processor controls the OS.

Answer 6

A port is a connection between your computer and any external peripherals. It allows the CPU to control the device via a port.