Net Center: devices and the listening port

Net Center listens for machines on one TCP port. Change it from the menu when something else already owns the default, and make sure both sides agree.

Where the port lives

Net Center is a small helper that talks to the controller. It listens on TCP 8080 by default. To change it: open Net Center → menu Device → Listening port, type the new port and confirm.

Saved only when it worksThe new value is written to disk after the port binds successfully. If the port is already taken, the change is rejected and the old value stays — that prevents a bad setting from surviving a restart.

Where the setting is stored

%LOCALAPPDATA%\DtzNetCenter\settings.json. It is per Windows user, so two accounts on one PC can run different ports. Deleting the file resets everything to defaults.

Both sides must agree

Changing the port in Net Center is only half of it. The controller has its own port setting for connecting out; if it points at 8080 and Net Center now listens on 9090, the device will never appear. Update the port on the machine side in the same session.

If the port is taken

Net Center refuses the bind and reports it — it does not silently fall back.
Find the owner: netstat -ano | findstr :8080, then match the PID in Task Manager.
Either stop that program or pick a free port, and update the machine side.

FirewallWindows Firewall asks once, the first time Net Center listens. If you clicked “Cancel”, the device will be invisible even though the port looks fine. Allow it in the firewall list, or the port change will appear to do nothing.

Confirm it is listening

After changing the port, the status line in Net Center should show the new port without an error. Devices then appear within a few seconds of being powered on.