What Are Network Sockets?

This article explains what network sockets are, how they work, and how Speedify interacts with them when combining your 4G/5G, Ethernet, Wi-Fi and Satellite connections.

Background

Network sockets are a fundamental part of how applications communicate over the internet. They're not specific to Speedify, but understanding them helps explain how Speedify manages your internet traffic when combining multiple connections.

A socket is an endpoint for sending or receiving data across a network. It pairs an IP address with a port number to create a unique communication channel between two devices.

• IP Address - identifies the device on a network.
• Port Number - identifies a specific service or application on that device.

How Network Sockets Work

When two devices communicate over a network, here's what happens at the socket level:

1. One device opens a socket and binds it to a local port.
2. The other device connects to that socket using the correct IP address and port number.
3. Data is transmitted over the connection until both sides close it.

Types of Network Sockets

There are two main socket types you'll encounter:

Socket Lifecycle

Every socket goes through a series of stages from creation to closure:

1. Creation - an application creates a socket using a system call or API (Application Programming Interface).
2. Binding - the socket is assigned a local IP address and port.
3. Listening - server-side sockets wait for incoming connection requests.
4. Connection - a client initiates a connection to the server socket.
5. Data Transfer - data is sent and received through the open socket.
6. Closure - the connection is closed once communication is complete.

Sockets in Everyday Applications and Speedify

Almost every networked application depends on sockets. A few common examples:

• Web Browsers - mostly use TCP sockets to request pages from servers, though UDP is becoming more common with QUIC (Quick UDP Internet Connections) / HTTP/3.
• Streaming Services - often use UDP sockets for low-latency video and audio delivery.
• Speedify - manages your internet traffic at the socket level (see Local Load Balancer) or at the packet level (in Speed and Redundant modes), depending on which bonding mode you've selected.

Common Socket Issues

• Port Conflicts - two applications trying to use the same port will cause errors. Only one application can bind to a given port at a time.
• Firewall Restrictions - firewalls may block socket connections, preventing apps from communicating over the network.
• Network Latency - slow or unreliable connections can affect socket performance, especially for real-time applications like streaming or gaming.