# Starting the Network Server from a Java application

Note that you should always properly shut down the Network Server after use, because failure to do so might result in unpredictable side-effects, such as blocked ports on the server.

There are two ways to start the Network Server from a Java application.

- You can include the following line in the `derby.properties` file:

      derby.drda.startNetworkServer=true

  This starts the server on the default port, 1527, listening on `localhost` (all interfaces).

  To specify a different port or a specific interface in the `derby.properties` file, include the following lines, respectively:

      derby.drda.portNumber=1110
      derby.drda.host=myhost

  You can also specify the `startNetworkServer` and `portNumber` properties by using a Java command:

      java -Dderby.drda.startNetworkServer=true
      -Dderby.drda.portNumber=1110
      -Dderby.drda.host=myhost yourApp

- You can use the NetworkServerControl API to start the Network Server from a separate thread within a Java application:

      NetworkServerControl server = new NetworkServerControl();
      server.start (null);

Parent topic: Starting the Network Server
Related tasks
Starting the Network Server on IPv6/Ipv4 dual stack Windows machines