HTTP

Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) runs on TCP port 80 and is the protocol used by web browsers to access web pages.

Your storage system uses HTTP to access the following:

Files when the HTTP protocol is enabled
FilerView for graphical user interface (GUI) administration
Secure FilerView when SecureAdmin is installed

Starting with Data ONTAP 7.3.1, HTTP over IPv6 is supported. However, HTTP over IPv6 can be used only for file access and not for FilerView and Secure FilerView.

The SecureAdmin SSL interface accepts connections on TCP port 443. SecureAdmin manages the details of the SSL network protocol, encrypts the connection, and then passes this traffic through to the normal HTTP FilerView interface through a loopback connection. This loopback connection does not use a physical network interface. HTTP communication takes place inside your storage system, and no clear text packets are transmitted.

The HTTP protocol is not vulnerable to security attacks because it provides read-only access to documents by unauthenticated clients. Although authentication is not typically used for file access, it is frequently used for access to restricted documents or for administration purposes, such as FilerView administration. The only authentication methods defined by the HTTP protocol send credentials, such as user names and passwords, over the network without encryption. The SecureAdmin product is provided with SSL support to overcome this shortcoming.

Note: In versions of Data ONTAP earlier than 7.0, your storage system listens for new connections (by default, set to TCP port 80) even when the HTTP protocol is not licensed and FilerView is disabled. However, starting with Data ONTAP 7.0, you can stop your storage system from listening for new connections by setting the options httpd.enable and httpd.admin.enable to off. If either of the options is set to on, your storage system will continue to listen for new connections.

Parent topic: IP port usage on a storage system