How many ports do I really need to memorize for Network+?

About 30. The N10-009 exam draws from a fixed list, and the high-frequency entries repeat across attempts. Memorizing IANA's full assigned-port list is wasted study time — focus on the 30 below, plus a tier-2 group of about 15 you should recognize on sight.

Are these the same ports tested on Security+ and CCNA?

Heavy overlap. Network+ and Security+ share roughly 25 of these 30 ports. CCNA adds a few routing-protocol ports (BGP/179, OSPF runs on protocol 89 not a TCP/UDP port). Memorizing the 30 below gets you most of the way on any entry-level networking exam.

Why are FTP, SFTP, and FTPS all on different ports?

Different protocols. FTP uses TCP/20 (data) + TCP/21 (control). SFTP runs inside SSH and uses TCP/22 only. FTPS is FTP wrapped in TLS and uses TCP/989 + TCP/990. The exam will explicitly test whether you can distinguish them — memorize all three.

Should I memorize TCP vs UDP for each port?

Yes, but use the shortcut: most ports are TCP. UDP is the exception, reserved for protocols where speed matters more than delivery guarantee — DNS queries (53), DHCP (67/68), TFTP (69), NTP (123), SNMP (161/162), Syslog (514). If you can't remember, guess TCP and you'll be right ~75% of the time.

Where can I drill these ports as flashcards?

Free flashcards aligned to this exact list are at https://network.it-learn.io — free with a quick signup. Drill for 5 minutes a day for a week and they'll be reflex by exam day.

Network+ Ports Cheat Sheet — All 30 Worth Memorizing on One Page

You don’t need to memorize 100 ports for the Network+ exam. You need about 30. Here they are, one page, ranked by how often they actually show up.

If you came from the IG comment-bait reel and you just want the cheat sheet — scroll down. Save the table. Comment PORTS on the reel if you haven’t already and I’ll DM you back when this updates.

The 30 ports you must know cold

These appear in roughly 60–80% of port questions on the N10-009 exam. If you can’t recall any of these in under 5 seconds, you’re not done studying. Drill until they’re reflex.

Port	Protocol	TCP/UDP	What it does
20	FTP data	TCP	File transfer (data channel)
21	FTP control	TCP	File transfer (commands)
22	SSH / SFTP / SCP	TCP	Encrypted remote shell + secure file transfer
23	Telnet	TCP	Unencrypted remote shell (exam trap with SSH)
25	SMTP	TCP	Email sending (unauthenticated, legacy)
53	DNS	TCP + UDP	Name resolution — UDP for queries, TCP for zone transfers
67	DHCP server	UDP	Server replies to DHCP requests
68	DHCP client	UDP	Client sends DHCP discover / request
69	TFTP	UDP	Trivial FTP, no auth, common for pushing network device config
80	HTTP	TCP	Unencrypted web
110	POP3	TCP	Email retrieval (unencrypted)
123	NTP	UDP	Time synchronization
143	IMAP	TCP	Email retrieval (unencrypted)
161	SNMP	UDP	Network device polling
162	SNMP trap	UDP	Device-initiated alerts
389	LDAP	TCP	Directory lookups (unencrypted)
443	HTTPS	TCP	Encrypted web
445	SMB	TCP	Windows file sharing (replaced 137/138/139)
514	Syslog	UDP	Log forwarding
587	SMTP submission	TCP	Authenticated email sending
636	LDAPS	TCP	LDAP over TLS
993	IMAPS	TCP	IMAP over TLS
995	POP3S	TCP	POP3 over TLS
3389	RDP	TCP	Remote Desktop Protocol (Windows)
989	FTPS data	TCP	FTP over TLS, data channel
990	FTPS control	TCP	FTP over TLS, control channel
1433	MS SQL Server	TCP	Database
3306	MySQL	TCP	Database
5432	PostgreSQL	TCP	Database
5060	SIP	TCP + UDP	VoIP signaling (unencrypted)

Memorization shortcut: most “secure” versions of plain-text protocols just add a higher port. HTTP/80 → HTTPS/443. LDAP/389 → LDAPS/636. IMAP/143 → IMAPS/993. POP3/110 → POP3S/995. Memorize the unsecured number, derive the secure one.

The grouping trick — memorize by service family

Holding 30 random numbers in working memory is hard. Holding 12 themed clusters is easier:

Web: 80 (HTTP), 443 (HTTPS), 8080 (HTTP alt), 8443 (HTTPS alt)
Email send: 25 (SMTP), 587 (Submission), 465 (SMTPS legacy)
Email receive: 110/995 (POP3/POP3S), 143/993 (IMAP/IMAPS)
File transfer: 20/21 (FTP), 22 (SFTP via SSH), 69 (TFTP), 989/990 (FTPS), 445 (SMB)
Remote access: 22 (SSH), 23 (Telnet), 3389 (RDP), 5900 (VNC)
Directory: 389/636 (LDAP/LDAPS)
Name / address: 53 (DNS), 67/68 (DHCP)
Time + logs: 123 (NTP), 514 (Syslog)
Network management: 161/162 (SNMP — poll/trap)
VoIP: 5060/5061 (SIP / SIP-TLS)
Databases: 1433 (MSSQL), 3306 (MySQL), 5432 (Postgres)
VPN: 500/4500 (IPsec/NAT-T), 1701 (L2TP), 1723 (PPTP)

How to use this cheat sheet

Three-pass routine, 30 minutes total:

Pass 1 (10 min) — read the table, identify any ports you can’t immediately recall, write them on flashcards. Focus on the protocol-to-port direction first (which port is HTTPS?).

Pass 2 (10 min) — flip and drill port-to-protocol (what protocol is on 443?). Then add TCP/UDP to each card.

Pass 3 (10 min) — 30 random “which port is X” questions in under 10 seconds each. Anything you miss goes back into the deck.

After a week of this routine, port questions on the exam take you 5 seconds each — leaving you more time for the subnetting questions that need actual math.

The deep version

For the full priority tiering — tier 1 (memorize cold), tier 2 (recognize on sight), tier 3 (safely skip) — see the deep companion post: Port Numbers Worth Memorizing for Network+ (and Which Ones You Can Skip). It covers the exam-trap patterns and the elimination tactics for when you forget a port mid-exam.

Practice these as flashcards (free)

📡 Studying for CompTIA Network+?

Practice with free flashcards, subnetting drills, and exam-style scenarios at network.it-learn.io — aligned to the current N10-009 objectives. Free with a quick signup.

The flashcard deck on network.it-learn.io is keyed off this exact list — same 30 ports, same TCP/UDP flags, same protocol descriptions. Drill 5 minutes a day for a week and they’re reflex.

🎯 Studying for any IT cert?

All the free cert-study tools — Network+, Security+, CCIE Security, CHFI, ECIH — live at study.it-learn.io. Flashcards, quizzes, calculators, mnemonics. Free with a quick signup.