Note: In Microsoft Windows Server 2008, a firewall is enabled by default.
This table outlines the ports required for communication between components:
| Port | Description |
| 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/. Note: Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) also use port 80. See Conflict Between vCenter Server and IIS for Port 80. |
| 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. The vCenter Server system needs to bind to port 389, even if you are not joining this vCenter Server instance to a Linked Mode 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. |
| 443 |
The default port that the vCenter Server system uses to listen for connections from the vSphere Client. To enable the vCenter Server system to receive data from the vSphere Client, open port 443 in the firewall. The vCenter Server system also uses port 443 to monitor data transfer from SDK clients. If you use another port number for HTTPS, you must use ip-address:port when you log in to the vCenter Server system. |
| 636 |
For vCenter Server 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. |
| 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. |
| 903 |
Port 903 must not be blocked between the vSphere Client and the hosts. The vSphere Client uses this ports to display virtual machine consoles. |
| 8080 | Web Services HTTP. Used for the VMware VirtualCenter Management Web Services. |
| 8443 | Web Services HTTPS. Used for the VMware VirtualCenter Management Web Services. |
| 60099 | Web Service change service notification port |
| 6501 | Auto Deploy Service |
| 6502 | Auto Deploy management |
| 7444 | vCenter Single Sign On HTTPS |
| 9443 | vSphere Web Client HTTPS |
| 9090 | vSphere Web Client HTTP |
| 10080 | vCenter Inventory Service HTTP |
| 10443 | vCenter Inventory Service HTTPS |
| 10111 | vCenter Inventory Service Management |
| 10109 | vCenter Inventory Service Linked Mode Communication |
Note: To have the vCenter Server system use a different port to receive vSphere Client data, see the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation. For a discussion of firewall configuration, see the vSphere Security Guide.