Port 2690: HP NNM Embedded Database — Enterprise network management's internal memory

Port 2690 is registered in the IANA database under the service name hp-nnm-data. It belongs to HP Network Node Manager (NNM), a network management platform that enterprises use to discover, map, and monitor network infrastructure at scale.

What Runs Here

HP Network Node Manager uses port 2690 for internal communication with its embedded database — the component that stores topology data, device inventories, event histories, and alert states. This is not a port you talk to directly. It is infrastructure talking to itself.

NNM (now maintained by OpenText after HP spun off its software division into Micro Focus) can run with either an embedded database or an external Oracle installation. When running embedded, port 2690 is the door between the application and its own storage.

The Range

Port 2690 sits in the registered port range (1024–49151). These ports are:

• Not reserved for the OS (unlike well-known ports 0–1023)
• Registered with IANA by specific vendors or organizations
• Often used by enterprise software, games, and proprietary protocols
• Not guaranteed to be in use — "registered" means claimed, not necessarily running

The registered range is where most enterprise software lives. It is also where most port conflicts happen, because vendors occasionally register ports their software never actually uses, or use ports they never bothered to register.

Is This Port a Security Concern?

On most machines, you will never see this port open. It only appears on servers running HP/Micro Focus/OpenText Network Node Manager. If you see it open on a machine that has no business running network management software, that is worth investigating.

Port scanners and threat intelligence databases occasionally flag registered-but-obscure ports because the same obscurity that makes them benign in legitimate use also makes them attractive for disguising unauthorized services.

How to Check What Is Listening

Linux/macOS:

# Show what process is using port 2690
sudo ss -tlnp | grep 2690

# Or with lsof
sudo lsof -i :2690

Windows:

# Show connections on port 2690 with process IDs
netstat -ano | findstr :2690

# Look up the process by PID
tasklist | findstr <PID>

If you see hpnmsd, nnm, or a related HP/Micro Focus/OpenText process, this is expected. If you see something else, dig deeper.