Many people are under the misimpression that simply having a network protocol such as TCP/IP in common is sufficient for two operating systems to communicate. The fact is that nothing is further from the truth. Although a common protocol is required, that is only part of the picture. Let’s look at a […]

Since many networks running NT 4.0 relied on WINS as their primary name resolution facility, Microsoft provided a non-standard method for integrating DNS with WINS. This involved configuring a DNS server with special WINS-related records that would then be used to extend name resolution beyond the records known to DNS. In a nutshell, if configured […]

WINS in Windows 2000 still behaves very much like WINS in Windows NT. The section provides an overview of some old functionality you may have forgotten about, as well as some of the new functions that you should be aware of.
WINS Proxy – Just like in NT 4, you can configure a Windows 2000 system […]

WINS client settings can be configured manually, or dynamically using the proper DHCP options (044 to assign server addresses, 046 to set the node type). WINS settings are set up by access the WINS tab in the advanced TCP/IP properties.
Note that unlike in NT 4 where you could only enter addresses for a primary and […]

You should recall from NT 4 that you could configure WINS servers to replicate information to one another, giving multiple WINS servers a more complete view of the network. This functionality still exists, with the ability to configure replication manually, as well as automatically. The automatic partner configuration can be set on a WINS server […]

Note that WINS is not installed on a Windows 2000 Server by default – you will need to add the service by accessing Windows Components via Add/Remove programs in Control Panel. As was the case in NT 4, systems configured to use WINS will register their NetBIOS name to IP address mapping when they start […]

The LMHOSTS file is far from the most efficient solution to NetBIOS name resolution, but is of use in environments without WINS. Created on the same principal as the hostname-resolving HOSTS file, the LMHOSTS file is a plain text file that contains NetBIOS names in one column, followed by IP addresses in the other. A […]

Many people assume that NetBIOS name resolution is no longer necessary in Windows 2000 due to the heightened importance of DNS as the primary name resolution facility in the OS. Although Microsoft is certainly moving away from a reliance on NetBIOS as a network protocol, you simply cannot ignore the fact that programs exist that […]