Quick one today:

Sometimes on new machines, that have Sql Server installed, I check to make sure if anyone is listening on port 1433. By default, Sql Server listens on port 1433 for incoming connection requests over TCP/IP protocol. Sql also listens on port 1434 fo DAC, for that is for a later post.

Also, when you are troubleshooting issues like in this previous post.

How to check if a particular port is actually active:

use netstat -an

It is a common and powerful to see what ports are open and have a listener on and what connections are established over what ports.

See sample report below:

NetStat Open Ports

With this you can see what ports are open and have a listener on. It helps with troubleshooting.

Hope this helps,

_SqlTimes