Port requirements
SolarWinds strongly recommends that you install Web Help Desk on a server that is protected from unauthorized access by the public. If your use of Web Help Desk does not need to be public or internet-facing, install it on a server that is neither public, nor internet-facing. To learn about best practices for configuring your Web Help Desk installation securely, see Best practices to secure SolarWinds Products.
Web Help Desk provides communication ports for the following resources:
Web Help Desk interfaces
| Port | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 8080 | TCP |
HTTP traffic. By default, redirected automatically to HTTPS. To serve over HTTP without redirect, set |
| 8081 | TCP | Internal only. Spring Boot backend API port. This port is bound to 127.0.0.1 (localhost only) and is not accessible from external browsers. All user traffic reaches the backend through the Caddy reverse proxy on the HTTPS port (default: 443). Do not open this port in your firewall for external access. |
| 8443 | TCP | HTTPS port for Caddyfile built-in fallback and macOS default install. The macOS launchd plist sets WHD_HTTPS_PORT=8443 by default. On Linux and Windows, conf/whd.env sets WHD_HTTPS_PORT=443 for production. Serves all Web Help Desk traffic (tech, client, and admin interfaces). Change the production HTTPS port by editing WHD_HTTPS_PORT in conf/whd.env. |
| 17778 | TCP | Communications from the SolarWinds Platform server, if integrated |
Databases
| Port | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1433 | TCP |
Communications with a Microsoft SQL external database, including:
|
| 3306 | TCP | External MySQL database |
| 5432 | TCP | Communication with an External PostgreSQL database |
| 20293 | TCP | Communications with an embedded PostgreSQL database |
| Port | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | TCP | Traffic from the Web Help Desk server to your email server for automated email notifications |
| 143 | TCP | Non-secure traffic with the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) mail server |
| 993 | TCP | Secure traffic with the IMAP mail server |
LDAP and Active Directory
| Port | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 389 | TCP | Traffic from the Web Help Desk server to a designated server (usually a domain controller) for use with the Directory Service tool (LDAP and Active Directory) |
| 636 | TCP | Secure traffic from the Web Help Desk server to a designated server (usually a domain controller) for use with the Directory Service tool (LDAP and Active Directory) |
Asset Discovery
| Port | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 135 | TCP | Asset Discovery using WMI (WMI calls uses port 135 and then chooses a random port for further communication) |
| 3306 | TCP | Communication with the MySQL external database, LANrev, and Casper 8 and lower |
| 4445 | TCP | Remote log server reader |
| 5433 | TCP |
Communication with Apple Remote 3.2 for asset discovery |
Firewall port requirements for data traffic
Firewalls between any two points of communication must have the requisite ports open to inbound or outbound traffic according to the relative direction of the communication traffic.
Port configuration
| Port | Service | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 8443 | HTTPS (Caddy) | Primary browser access |
| 8080 | HTTP redirect (Caddy) | Redirects to HTTPS |
| 8081 | Backend API | Internal only (Spring Boot) |
| 3000 | Frontend UI | Internal only (Next.js) |
| 20293 | PostgreSQL | Internal only (bundled database) |
|
Only port 8443 needs to be accessible from client machines. Ports 8081, 3000, and 20293 are bound to 127.0.0.1 and should not be exposed externally. HTTP listener (WHD_HTTP_PORT) not functional in WHD2026.2.1.
All ports are configurable in
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Firewalls
Firewalls between any two points of communication must have the requisite ports open to inbound or outbound traffic according to the relative direction of the communication traffic.