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Port 1434 MS SQL Browser

SQL Server Browser service (instance discovery).

Protocol
UDP
Service
MS SQL Browser
Category
Databases
Exposing to the internet
Do not expose

This is a UDP port: UDP reachability cannot be tested reliably with a simple connect; check firewall rules and packet counters.

Is it safe to open

A database should only be reachable from the application servers. Bind it to localhost or a private network, require authentication and TLS, and connect from outside through a VPN or an SSH tunnel.

How to open port 1434

Open to everyone

# Linux iptables
iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 1434 -j ACCEPT
# Ubuntu ufw
ufw allow 1434/udp
# firewalld
firewall-cmd --permanent --add-port=1434/udp && firewall-cmd --reload
# MikroTik
/ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=udp dst-port=1434 action=accept place-before=0 comment="port 1434"
# Windows (PowerShell)
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Port 1434 UDP" -Direction Inbound -Protocol UDP -LocalPort 1434 -Action Allow

Only for your addresses

# allow only one address or network (replace 203.0.113.0/24)
iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 1434 -s 203.0.113.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 1434 -j DROP
ufw allow from 203.0.113.0/24 to any port 1434 proto udp
/ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=udp dst-port=1434 src-address=203.0.113.0/24 action=accept
/ip firewall filter add chain=input protocol=udp dst-port=1434 action=drop

If the server is behind a router, you also need a port forward (dst-nat). Behind ISP CGNAT (100.64.0.0/10 on the WAN) forwarding will not help: you need a public IP or a VPN.

What is listening

Check on the server

# what listens on the port
ss -lntup | grep ':1434 '
netstat -ano | findstr :1434   # Windows
lsof -i :1434   # macOS

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