Port 1305: pe-mike — The ghost in the registry

Port 1305 exists in an odd space—it's officially registered with IANA, meaning someone requested it, filled out paperwork, and claimed this number for their service. But that's where the story ends. The service name is "pe-mike." The documentation stops there.¹

What Range This Port Belongs To

Port 1305 sits in the registered ports range (1024-49151). These ports are assigned by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) to specific services upon request. Unlike well-known ports (0-1023) which require root privileges to use, registered ports can be used by regular applications—but they still have official assignments to prevent conflicts.

Someone registered port 1305. Someone thought their service mattered enough to claim a permanent spot in the registry. And then the service disappeared, or was never widely deployed, or simply operated in quiet obscurity.

The Mystery of pe-mike

The name "pe-mike" appears in IANA records. No description. No RFC. No protocol documentation. Port lookup databases list it, repeat the name, and offer nothing more.¹²

This isn't unusual. The port registry contains thousands of entries like this—services from the 1990s and early 2000s that were registered optimistically, used internally at some company or university, and never became part of the broader Internet infrastructure. The registry remembers them, even if nobody else does.

What This Port Might Actually Do

In practice, port 1305 could be:

• Completely unused on most systems—a reserved number that nothing actually listens on
• Used internally by some organization that registered it decades ago
• Repurposed unofficially by software that doesn't care about the official assignment
• A historical artifact from a service that existed briefly and died

The honest answer: unless you find something actively listening on port 1305 on your specific network, it's probably doing nothing.

How to Check What's Using This Port

On Linux or macOS:

sudo lsof -i :1305
netstat -an | grep 1305

On Windows:

netstat -ano | findstr :1305

If you find something listening, the process ID will tell you what software claimed it. That might be more informative than the official registry.

Why These Ghost Ports Matter

The existence of ports like 1305 reveals something about how the Internet was built. The port registry assumed infinite namespace and orderly allocation. Request a port, document your protocol, deploy your service. Neat and organized.

Reality was messier. Services were built and abandoned. Protocols were designed but never standardized. Companies registered ports for internal tools that never left the building. The registry preserved all of it—a fossil record of the Internet that might have been.

Port 1305 is one of thousands of these fossils. The name survives. The service is gone. The port number waits, officially assigned to a ghost.