TCP vs UDP port checks
TCP checks whether a host accepts a connection handshake — useful for web servers, SSH, databases, and most admin services.
UDP checks whether a host responds to datagram traffic — common for DNS, VPN tunnels, and game servers. UDP replies are often silent, so results may show open|filtered.
What is a TCP port check?
Computers expose services on numbered ports — for example, HTTPS on port 443 and SSH on port 22.
A port check attempts to open a TCP connection to a host and port. If the connection succeeds, the port is open. If it is refused or times out, the port is closed or filtered.
Scan profiles and custom ranges
Industry port scanners group checks by purpose — web, mail, remote access, databases, and cloud infrastructure.
SkyPath offers named profiles plus Custom: enter comma-separated ports (80,443) or ranges (8000-8010) for up to 32 ports per scan. Multi-port scans are TCP-only.
Open vs closed vs filtered
Open: a service is listening and accepted the connection (or replied to a UDP probe).
Closed: the host is reachable but nothing accepted traffic on that port.
Filtered / open|filtered: packets were dropped or UDP produced no definitive reply — common for firewalled or silent UDP services.
Limitations
UDP semantics are best-effort; many services never reply to empty probes.
Results reflect reachability from SkyPath's network, not from your home or office connection.
Some hosts rate-limit or block port probes from cloud networks, which can look like a filtered port even when the service is up.