What does "8 independent sockets" mean?

TCP/IP Chip W5500
1

Hello,
The datasheet says “Supports 8 independent sockets simultaneously”. What exactly this mean? Does it mean that I can only have 8 TCP/IP connections simultaneously? Can you elaborate the mentioned sentence please?
Thank you,
Regards

2

That’s exactly what it means. On the bright side, the hardware manages the SYN/ACK process on listening sockets to establish a connection without software intervention, but on the down side you’re limited to 8 simultaneous network connections (TCP and/or UDP).

3

Hi
"Supports 8 independent sockets simultaneously” mean you can use 8 kinds of application.