0.010/29/2019

INFO-1011: Ports and Firewalls

Description

What ports are used by PlanetPress Suite and how can I configure my firewall to prevent any issues?

Contents

PlanetPress Suite Messenger

PlanetPress Suite uses a special service component, referred to as "Messenger" (not to be confused with Windows Messenger or MSN Messenger) to allow the parts of the PlanetPress Suite to work together across the network. For example, Messenger is used to know which product is installed on which computer, send documents from PlanetPress to PlanetPress Watch, etc.

We are officially registered with IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority):

http://www.iana.org/assignments/port-numbers

List of Ports

Usage   Protocol   Local Port Remote Port
File transfer server (documents, jobs, etc) TCP 5863 (listening port) N/A
Product discovery (server) UDP 5863 (listening port)(2) N/A
File transfer client (documents, jobs, etc) TCP default(1) 5863
Product discovery (client) UDP default(1)(2) 5863

The Usage column represents the various modules within Messenger, not separate programs.

Configuring your Firewall

Depending on your network configuration, it is possible that a local firewall may interfere with Messenger's outgoing and incoming messages. For example, your PlanetPress Workflow server may not be able to receive documents sent by a PlanetPress Design installation on another computer. This will show you how to add the correct exceptions in the built-in Windows firewall for most versions of Windows.

Note: If you are using a third-party firewall system, please refer to its documentation to learn how to add exceptions for the UDP and TCP ports in the software.

Windows XP/Windows 2003

  1. Go in Start, then Control Panel. The icon may be located in Settings.
  2. Double-click on Windows Firewall.If you do not see the icon, click on Switch to Classic View in the left panel.
  3. Click the Exceptions tab
  4. Click Add Port...
  5. In the Add a Port dialog, and enter the following settings:
    • Name: PlanetPress
    • Port Number: 5863
    • Protocol: TCP
  6. Click OK.
  7. Repeat steps 3-8 but choose UDP for protocol instead.
  8. Click OK in the Windows Firewall dialog.

Windows 7

  1. Go in Start, Control Panel
  2. Click on System and Security.
  3. Click on the Windows Firewall title.
  4. In the menu on the left, click on Advanced Settings. You may need to click on Allow in the UAC dialog to continue.
  5. Click on Inbound Rules. In the Actions pane on the right, click New Rule. The New Inbound Rule Wizard appears.
  6. Select Port then click Next.
  7. Select TCP, enter 5863 in the Specific local ports box then click Next.
  8. Leave the default Allow the connection option then click Next.
  9. Leave all 3 options checked then click Next.
  10. In the Name box type in PlanetPress. You can enter an optional description, then click Finish.
  11. Repeat steps 5 - 10, but in step 7 choose UDP instead.
  12. Close all open dialogs.