Information, Computer and Network Security Terms Glossary and Dictionary

Socket

A socket represents a single connection between two network applications. Sockets are the combination of IP address plus corresponding TCP/UDP port numbers. Every paired of connected socket has a source IP/port and a destination IP/port. Users of Internet applications are normally aware of all except the local port number, this is allocated when connection is established and is almost entirely arbitrary unlike the well-known port numbers associated with popular applications. In AppleTalk network, socket functions in the same way except the detailed definition is different. Every application that uses AppleTalk Datagram Delivery Protocol (DDP) to transfer data must send or receive that data through a socket. The use of sockets allows DDP to determine for which application a packet is intended.

Related Terms

Socket