22 NI Discovery Protocol

Discovery of networked NI devices (targets) by other devices (hosts) requires bi-directional communication between host and target. By default, NI devices do not have communication restrictions. However, devices that are not produced by NI may use firewall software as a security measure to restrict communication.

NI network device discovery requires access to the following ports.

Port	Protocol	Description
5353	UDP	Discovery of devices using the multicast Domain Name System (mDNS) protocol
44515	UDP	Discovery of legacy devices in safe-mode when a routable IP address is not known
44516	TCP	Discovery of legacy devices in safe-mode when a routable IP address is known
44525	UDP	Discovery of legacy devices in run-mode
52725	TCP	NI Network Browser utility
3580	UDP	web monitoring and configuration server port

As of 2023, it seems that Linux RT does not use the UDP-based communication anymore but is using an mDNS based protocol. The UDP protocol is deprecated and only used on Phar Lap and VxWorks devices.

Other Resources

Configuring Software and Hardware Firewalls to Support National Instruments Products: http://www.ni.com/white-paper/12402/en/