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Unlike IP addresses, port numbers are only conventions, they are not technically required to be unique.

If I want to run an ssh server on port 80 (HTTP) then I can, and it will work just fine, and it won't bother anyone else.

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I used to run a SSH server on port 443. Why? Most firewalls in stupid places like schools are configured to permit traffic on 443, and not to inspect it. SSH is your gateway to everything else; Most SSH clients implement a SOCKS server to allow tunneling by your web browser.

In addition, you might want to run a process on a non standard port for security through obscurity such as not running SSH on port 22.

Yes, because if nothing else, it almost eliminates failed login log messages (talking specifically about ssh here).

true enough... the fail2ban messages are bad enough without running SSH on port 22... on the flip side, it sucks in other ways if you want to use SSH for something that isn't complete host access (terminal based BBS for instance).

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