Differences Between IP Address and Port Number

Almost 95% of American adults use the Internet. However, despite the massive number, not all users know about the important parts that make the Internet work: IP addresses and port numbers. 

An IP address is a set of numbers that indicate your device’s location. It is vital to how data is processed on the entire Internet. 

Meanwhile, a port number is an identifier for a specific app or service, depending on the request.  

Most people often confuse port numbers with IP addresses. However, they are significantly different. 

This article will discuss what makes IP addresses and port numbers different. Read on. 

IP Address vs. Port Number 

IP addresses and port numbers are both identifiers that play a vital role in running the Internet. 

Before looking into the differences between IP addresses and port numbers, it would be best to take a closer look at what each label is.  

Defining IP Address

An IP address is like your home address online. IP stands for Internet Protocol. It is a crucial aspect of online communications. 

Each device connected to the Internet has an IP address. It is the only way data can be exchanged. 

Without an IP address, nobody would know where the data is supposed to travel. 

As you do your business online, devices send data requests to one another, and the IP addresses on those requests tell the sending device where the data should go.

An IP address looks like this: 

Humans are not great at remembering a bunch of numbers like IP addresses. That is why a website address looks as simple as “www.surfshark.com.” 

Unlike humans, a device does not understand what that is. It will ping a Domain Name System (DNS) to translate a website address into an IPv4 address.

IP Address Versions: IPv4 and IPv6

94% of the internet traffic run on the fourth version of the standardized IP address. IPv4 allows for 32-bit long addresses. 

Currently, there are over 4 billion IPv4 addresses that exist. However, there are not enough IPv4 addresses for all the devices right now. 

This is why a new version is making its way—IPv6. An IPv6 address can be 128-bit long, and it can look like this:

IP addresses’ transition from IPv4 to IPv6 is happening. However, it will take a lot of time to finish. 

Due to the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses, only the router has a unique address. It’s called the public IP address. 

Any device connected to the router is assigned a private IP address.

How does a router know where to route the replies addressed to the public? It is supported by the Native Address Translation (NAT) system on your router. 

NAT packages data from devices’ private IPs for sending with the public IP and sorts out the replies. This is the system you’ll have to configure if you want to forward ports. 

Understanding Port Number 

A port number is a digital address pointing to a certain process inside a device. It is appended to the IP address. Together, they form the socket address. 

The IP address describes which device the data should go to. Meanwhile, the port number lets the device know what process the data is addressed to. 

Port numbers are 16-bit long and fit in the range of 0 to 65535. They are assigned by Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) automatically. 

A lot of the well-known port addresses are reserved for common practices. Some of these are:

• 20 is used for File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
• 194 is used by Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
• 443 is used by HTTPS (the secure version of HTTP)

Typically, port numbers are not a concern for regular users. However, there can be circumstances when you must open the port (called port forwarding). 

Opening the port lets outside processes connect to the device without being asked by the device itself. 

A common example of this is when a user is hosting a game on a computer. They need to open the ports to let other players join. 

The process can be dangerous. It provides a gap in your cyber defenses, and hackers can use it to harm you. 

What Makes IP Address and Port Number Different? 

IP addresses and port numbers are very different. However, they are still part of the same process that makes the Internet happen. 

Here are the differences summed up in a chart: 

Bottom Line

Port numbers and IP addresses are significantly different. 

An IP address is an identifier that represents the device. Meanwhile, a port number represents the application or the service processed on the device. 

However, despite the differences, both the IP address and port number are vital parts of the web. Understanding what they are and how they work helps you get a broader idea of the process that creates the Internet. 

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