Port 20000: DNP3
Port 20000 is DNP3, a protocol widely used in electric and water utility SCADA systems to communicate between control centers and remote field equipment. Like many older industrial protocols, it was not designed with modern network security in mind.
| Port number | 20000 |
|---|---|
| Service | Distributed Network Protocol 3 |
| Protocol | TCP/UDP |
| Category | IoT & automation |
| Default encryption | No |
How do I check whether port 20000 is open?
Port 20000 carries TCP, so a connection either completes its handshake or it does not, which makes the check definitive.
| Question | Command | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Is it open on a remote host? | nc -vz example.com 20000 | A TCP handshake either completes or it does not, so netcat gives a definitive answer in one line. |
| Same check on Windows | Test-NetConnection example.com -Port 20000 | Built into PowerShell. TcpTestSucceeded in the output is the answer; telnet is not installed by default on modern Windows. |
| What is listening locally? | ss -tlnp | grep ':20000 ' | Lists the process bound to port 20000 on Linux. On macOS use lsof -nP -iTCP:20000 -sTCP:LISTEN, on Windows netstat -ano | findstr :20000 |
| Is it open on a remote host? | sudo nmap -sU -p 20000 example.com | UDP has no handshake, so there is nothing to complete. nmap infers the state from whether an ICMP port-unreachable comes back, needs root, and is slow and easy to misread. A silent port may be open, filtered, or simply not replying to a probe it does not recognise. |
| What is listening locally? | ss -ulnp | grep ':20000 ' | Shows the UDP socket bound to port 20000. This is the reliable way to answer the question, because you are asking the host itself rather than guessing from outside. |
Replace example.com with the host you are testing. A blocked port and a port with nothing listening on it look identical from the outside, so if a service should be running, check locally before blaming the firewall.
Frequently asked questions
What is port 20000 used for?
Port 20000 is DNP3, a protocol widely used in electric and water utility SCADA systems to communicate between control centers and remote field equipment. Like many older industrial protocols, it was not designed with modern network security in mind.
Is port 20000 TCP or UDP?
Port 20000 (DNP3) uses TCP/UDP.
Is port 20000 secure?
Port 20000 is not encrypted by default. Where possible, use an encrypted alternative or tunnel it over TLS or a VPN.
Should I open port 20000 on my firewall?
Only if you specifically need DNP3. Expose it to the smallest set of trusted sources, and never open database or Windows-service ports to the whole internet.