CentOS - Nov 2007 - what is the default file-max in /proc

Hello

What is the default or recommended file-max in /proc/sys/fs/ ?
I remember that having a large number of open files or sockets
make system be unstable, and now that I am checking my server
the file-max is about 386466 .

Is opened sockets will be added to  opened files as well.

Thanks