How many service ports are available?

In networking, a service port is a logical endpoint for communication, and the total number of available ports is what this question is addressing. The correct answer, 65536, reflects the total range of ports that can be used in TCP/IP networking.

Ports are represented as 16-bit unsigned integers, which means they can range from 0 to 65535. When you include both the lowest port number (0) and the highest (65535), the total amounts to 65536 individual ports. This range is commonly divided into three categories: well-known ports (0-1023), registered ports (1024-49151), and dynamic or private ports (49152-65535).

This understanding of port numbers is fundamental in network configuration and security, as various services (like HTTP, FTP, etc.) are assigned specific ports for communication, emphasizing the importance of knowing how many ports can be utilized. The other options do not accurately capture the full scope of available ports within the TCP/IP architecture.