The vCenter Server system both on Windows and in the appliance, must be able to send data to every managed host and receive data from the vSphere Web Client and the Platform Services Controller services. To enable migration and provisioning activities between managed hosts, the source and destination hosts must be able to receive data from each other.
If a port is in use or is blacklisted, the vCenter Server installer displays an error message. You must use another port number to proceed with the installation. There are internal ports that are used only for inter-process communication.
VMware uses designated ports for communication. Additionally, the managed hosts monitor designated ports for data from vCenter Server. If a firewall exists between any of these elements, the installer opens the ports during the installation or upgrade process. For custom firewalls, you must manually open the required ports. If you have a firewall between two managed hosts and you want to perform source or target activities, such as migration or cloning, you must configure a means for the managed hosts to receive data.
| Port | Description | Can Be Changed During Installation |
|---|---|---|
| 22 | System port for SSHD. This port is used only by the vCenter Server Appliance. |
No |
| 80 | vCenter Server requires port 80 for direct HTTP connections. Port 80 redirects requests to HTTPS port 443. This redirection is useful if you accidentally use http://server instead of https://server. WS-Management (also requires port 443 to be open). If you use a Microsoft SQL database that is stored on the same virtual machine or physical server as the vCenter Server, port 80 is used by the SQL Reporting Service. When you install or upgrade vCenter Server, the installer prompts you to change the HTTP port for vCenter Server. Change the vCenter Server HTTP port to a custom value to ensure a successful installation or upgrade. |
Yes |
| 88 | VMware key distribution center port. | No |
| 389 | This port must be open on the local and all remote instances of vCenter Server. This is the LDAP port number for the Directory Services for the vCenter Server group. If another service is running on this port, it might be preferable to remove it or change its port to a different port. You can run the LDAP service on any port from 1025 through 65535. If this instance is serving as the Microsoft Windows Active Directory, change the port number from 389 to an available port from 1025 through 65535. |
No |
| 443 | The default port that the vCenter Server system uses to listen for connections from the vSphere Web Client. To enable the vCenter Server system to receive data from the vSphere Web Client, open port 443 in the firewall. The vCenter Server system also uses port 443 to monitor data transfer from SDK clients. This port is also used for the following services:
|
Yes |
| 514 | vSphere Syslog Collector port for vCenter Server on Windows and vSphere Syslog Service port for vCenter Server Appliance | Yes |
| 636 | For vCenter Server Enhanced Linked Mode, this is the SSL port of the local instance. If another service is running on this port, it might be preferable to remove it or change its port to a different port. You can run the SSL service on any port from 1025 through 65535. | No |
| 902 | The default port that the vCenter Server system uses to send data to managed hosts. Managed hosts also send a regular heartbeat over UDP port 902 to the vCenter Server system. This port must not be blocked by firewalls between the server and the hosts or between hosts. Port 902 must not be blocked between the vSphere Client and the hosts. The vSphere Client uses this port to display virtual machine consoles |
Yes |
| 1514 | vSphere Syslog Collector TLS port for vCenter Server on Windows and vSphere Syslog Service TLS port for vCenter Server Appliance | Yes |
| 2012 | Control interface RPC for vCenter Single Sign-On | No |
| 2014 | RPC port for all VMCA (VMware Certificate Authority) APIs | Yes |
| 2020 | Authentication framework management | Yes |
| 6500 | ESXi Dump Collector port | Yes |
| 6501 | Auto Deploy service | Yes |
| 6502 | Auto Deploy management | Yes |
| 7444 | Secure Token Service | No |
| 9443 | vSphere Web Client HTTPS | No |
| 11711 | vCenter Single Sign-On LDAP | No |
| 11712 | vCenter Single Sign-On LDAPS | No |
To configure the vCenter Server system to use a different port to receive vSphere Web Client data, see the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation.
For more information about firewall configuration, see the vSphere Security documentation.
