Passing the Network+ Exam: A Guide to Understanding Essential Network Protocols

The N10-008(Network+) will test you on your knowledge of the most common protocols, their uses, and what port number they operate on. This is foundational knowledge for your career as an IT professional, it is crucial you have an understanding of them.

Learning all these protocols can prove quite challenging, however, don't fear! By grouping these protocols into groups of operations, you will be able to learn the protocol and its respective port number in a flash. Combine this with some flashcards and you're on your way to mastering this foundational knowledge.

File Transfer Protocols:

• File Transfer Protocol (FTP) 20/21

• Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) 22

• Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) 69

• Server Message Block (SMB) 445

Remote Access Protocols:

• Secure Shell (SSH) 22

• Telnet 23

• Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) 3389

Email Protocols:

• Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) 25

• Post Office Protocol v3 (POP3) 110

• Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) 161/162

• Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) 143

• SMTP TLS 587

• IMAP over SSL 993

• POP3 over SSL 995

DNS and DHCP:

• Domain Name System (DNS) 53

• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) 67/68

Directory Services:

• Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) 389

• Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (over SSL) (LDAPS) 636

Web Protocols:

• Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) 80

• Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) [Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)] 443

• HTTPS [Transport Layer Security (TLS)] 443

Time Protocols:

• Network Time Protocol (NTP) 123

Database Protocols:

• Structured Query Language (SQL) Server 1433

• SQLnet 1521

• MySQL 3306

Voice over IP Protocols:

• Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) 5060/5061

Logging Protocols:

• Syslog 514

It's important to note that some protocols could be classified into multiple categories, but the above categorization is based on their most common usage.

I encourage you to read about what each protocol does, as you expose yourself to information on what each protocol does, your neurons will form stronger connections based on that knowledge, and you will be able to recall it with ease.