Port 4878Agilent Instrument Discovery

UDP port 4878 is used to discover Agilent test-and-measurement instruments on a network.

transport: udp
in transit: cleartext
assignment: official
risk: 1/10
lookups: 0

also known as inst-discovery

Technical Details

what runs on :4878

This is a UDP discovery service, not a long-lived application session. Agilent instrument-control software and compatible instruments use datagrams on port 4878 to find equipment on the network; detailed message formats and response behavior should not be assumed from the port assignment alone. Instrument control itself may use other protocols and ports.

Security Information

exposure of :4878

risk score

1/ 10safe

routine exposure. this port is rarely the way in on its own — keep it patched and logged and move on.

network services averages 2.6 across 1,597 ports — this one sits 1.6 below.

in transit

cleartext

credentials and payloads are readable by anyone on path

assignment

official

registered with iana for this service — scanners fingerprint it by number

reachable over

udp

udp is connectionless — source addresses are trivially spoofed and it is a reflection favourite

security overview

Discovery traffic is not encrypted and may reveal that an instrument is present, along with identifying details in its replies. Keep it on trusted instrument or lab networks; there is generally no reason to expose this discovery service to the public internet.

Record

iana registry entry

port: :4878
service: Agilent Instrument Discovery
transport: UDP
encryption: cleartext
assignment: iana registered
risk: 1/10safe
category: Network Services
usage: Agilent instrument-discovery traffic is used to locate network-connected test equipment, typically on a local lab network. The IANA assignment is registered to Charles F Steele.
lookups: 0rank 993
added: 2026-10-06
updated: 2026-10-06
references: IANA service name registry — port 4878

Something wrong?

This record is maintained by the engineers who use port 4878. Every field on it is editable — change what's wrong, say how you know, and a reviewer publishes it, usually within a minute. Last touched 2026-10-06.

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risk mix of the 8 listed

caution100%

0 of 8 encrypted

Port :4878Agilent Instrument Discovery

Technical Details

Security Information

Related Ports

Port 4878Agilent Instrument Discovery