WINS definition
Windows Internet Naming Services (WINS) Provides a distributed database for a dynamic mapping of a computer and a user group NetBIOS name on a registration and query network. WINS maps the NetBIOS name to an IP address and designs the problem that appears in the NetBIOS name resolution of the routing environment. WINS is the best choice for NetBIOS name resolution in the NetBIOS routing network on TCP / IP.
Earlier versions of Microsoft operating systems use NetBIOS names to identify and locate computers and other shared or clustered resources, to use these resources on the network to use these resources to resolve or name resolution.
In earlier versions of Microsoft operating systems, the NetBIOS name is required for creating network services. Although NetBIOS naming protocols (such as NetBeui or IPX / SPX) can be used to non-TCP / IP network protocols, WINS is still designed to support NetBIOS (NetBT) on TCP / IP.
WINS simplifies the management of NetBIOS names in the TCP / IP network.
Benefits using WINS
WINS provides the following benefits to manage TCP / IP-based networks:
Keep a dynamic name - address database for your computer name registration and parsing support.
Name - The centralized management of the address database eases the need to manage the LMHOSTS file.
Direction of the remote system directly by licensed the WINS server to reduce NetBIOS-based broadcast communication based on the subnet.
For early Windows and NetBIOS customers on the network, allowing these types of customers to browse the remote Windows domain list without requiring the local domain controller.
When performing a WINS search integration, you can manage DNS-based customers by allowing customers to locate NetBIOS resources.
When will WINS
For networks consisting of all other computers running Windows 2000 Server and all other computers of Windows 2000 Professional, NetBIOS is no longer required for TCP / IP-based networks. Because of these changes, WINS is required for most networks, but it may not be needed in some instances.
Is there an old computer on the network that needs to use the NetBIOS name?
Remember all network computers running under the previous version of the Microsoft operating system, such as MS-DOS, Windows or Windows NT, require NetBIOS name support. Windows 2000 is the first operating system that no longer requires NetBIOS naming support. Therefore, the NetBIOS name can still be required on the network to provide basic files and print services and support for many of the old-style applications used.
Whether to configure all the computers on the network to support using other types of network naming, such as DNS?
Network naming is still important services to locate computers and resources across the network, and even when Netbios is not required. Before deciding to eliminate WINS or NetBIOS Name Support, make sure all computers and programs on the network can use other naming services to work normally, such as DNS.
Typically, the Windows operating system supports two main network name parsing methods. They are:
Host name resolution. This is Windows's socket-based name resolution, which executes the gethostByname () API function to search for host IP addresses, which is based on the host name of the query. This method relies on the HOSTS file or query DNS to perform the name resolution.
NetBIOS name analysis. This name parsing uses the NetBIOS redirector to search for the address based on the query NetBIOS name. This method relies on the LMHOSTS file or query the WINS execution name resolution.
By default, WINS customers running Windows 2000 are configured to first use DNS parsing lengths to more than 15 characters or contain names of decimal points (.). For a name less than 15 characters and does not contain a decimal point, if the client is configured to use the DNS server, you can also use the DNS as the final option after the WINS query fails. If you run a pure Windows 2000 environment, check the current configured DNS and can be used by all client computers on the network to parse the name. If you run your computer's hybrid environment, that is, the computer is running under Windows 2000 and other operating system platforms, confirm that other hosts use only DNS parsing host name.
WINS working principle
By default, when you are configured with a WINDOWS 2000 computer (manual or via DHCP), the computer will support the node type registered using the mix node as the NetBIOS name. For NetBIOS name queries and resolution, it also supports the operation of the hybrid node, but there is a little difference.
For NetBIOS name resolution, WINS customers usually do the following series of steps to parse the name:
Customer checks if the name of the query is the local NetBIOS computer name it owns.
Customer checks the local NetBIOS name cache of the remote name. The resolution name of the remote customer is placed in this cache and will remain for 10 minutes.
Customers forward the NetBIOS query into the configured primary WINS server. If the primary WINS server response query fails (because the primary WINS server is not available, or because it is not named), the customer will try to contact other configured WINS server in order to list and configure us.
Customers query the NetBIOS to the local subnet.
If the client is configured to use the LMHOSTS file, the customer will check the LMHOSTS file that matches the query.
If you configure it as a single customer, the customer will try the HOSTS file and try the DNS server.
