Port 2594: Data Base Server — A Name Without a Protocol

What Port 2594 Is

Port 2594 sits in the registered ports range (1024–49151), the middle tier of the port numbering system. IANA's registry lists it as assigned to a service called "Data Base Server" (abbreviated "dts") on both TCP and UDP, with a contact of Andreas Roene.¹

That's where the trail ends.

There is no RFC. No documentation. No known software that ships using this port by default. The registration exists — one line in a spreadsheet maintained by the organization that coordinates the Internet's numbering systems — but the protocol it was meant to describe never followed.

The Registered Ports Range

The 1024–49151 range is where organizations and developers can formally register port assignments for their applications. Unlike well-known ports (0–1023), which require IANA review and are typically assigned to established protocols, registered ports have historically been easier to claim.

The result: thousands of entries like port 2594. A name. A contact. No specification.

This isn't unusual. The registered range contains hundreds of assignments where someone staked a claim and nothing was ever built, the project was abandoned, or the service never gained adoption. The registry is a historical record, not a living directory of active services.

If You See Port 2594 in the Wild

If something is listening on port 2594 on your system or network, it is almost certainly not "Data Base Server" — because that service doesn't exist in any deployable form. It could be:

• A custom or proprietary application that happened to pick this port
• Malware or unauthorized software (unrecognized open ports are worth investigating)
• A development service assigned to this port by coincidence or configuration

To check what's listening:

macOS / Linux:

lsof -i :2594
# or
ss -tlnp | grep 2594

Windows:

netstat -ano | findstr :2594

Then look up the process ID to identify the application.

Why Ghost Registrations Matter

Port numbers are a finite namespace — 65,535 of them, shared across the entire Internet. Ghost registrations like port 2594 occupy space in that namespace without providing any of the benefit registrations are meant to provide: clarity about what's running and why.

When a port has a name but no specification, it creates ambiguity. Is traffic on port 2594 the registered service? Something else? The registration is supposed to answer that question. Here, it just raises it.

The Internet runs on clarity. Port 2594 is a small reminder of how often that clarity goes missing.