Firstly, are these questions related to firewall configuration for a SQL server instance?
alanspeckman (8/7/2012)
If I am using dynamic port settings on my sql server instance, I need the sql browser service to run and listen over port 1434 for incoming requests.
Yes and this is really the only way as the dynamic port could change each time the instance restarts
alanspeckman (8/7/2012)
If I am using a static default port of 1433, the browser service is not needed.
That is correct
alanspeckman (8/7/2012)
However, if I set a non-default port, say 1638, for my SQL server to listen over, do I need the SQL Browser to listen for incoming requests, so it can look up 1638???
If you'll be connecting directly to the IP,port then you don't need the browser service, it's only needed when connecting using the instance name
alanspeckman (8/7/2012)
My understanding is, as a connection coming into a sql server instance, if it is not using dynamic ports, and not using the default port, I MUST KNOW the port SQL Server is listening on and use that port in my connection string to make a succesfful connection.
See above
alanspeckman (8/7/2012)
I always thought the browser service was only needed for dynamic ports.
No, although it is only really more relevant when dynamic ports are used as they can change at any restart
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