# Starting the Network Server from a Java application

Always shut down the Network Server properly 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
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Starting the Network Server on IPv6/IPv4 dual stack Windows machines