"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"
hoo.com wrote in message
...
tek wrote:
On Nov 15, 3:21 am, "Steve Winograd [MVP]"
wrote:
In article
,

tek wrote:
What command can I execute to find which PC is acting as the WINS
server in my LAN?

If a network connection has been configured to use a WINS server,
"ipconfig/all" will show the server's IP address.

At the risk of stating what you already know: a typical workgroup
network doesn't have a WINS server. WINS usually requires a computer
running a server operating system.

The \windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts files on each PC do not
contain static IPs because the router is the DHCP server.

That's apples to oranges.....and note that hosts isn't for NetBIOS. That's
LMHOSTS.

What allows
me to ping by hostname if there is no WINS server available? I must be
missing something in the way NetBIOS works.

NetBIOS is broadcast based. Without a WINS server (which you don't
normally have in a workgroup), your workstations are all participating in
browser elections and hollering at each other over the network. "Hey, have
you seen SERVER1? Oh, over there? Thanks."

WINS essentially shuts them up and says, "just check here when you want
NetBIOS name resolution." Your WINS server is usually your master
browser - when you have WINS, you can even stop & disable the computer
browser service on all the workstations. Without WINS, you need it
running.



Hi, all.

I'd just like to add some clarification, if I may :-)

The default name resolution sequence for windows XP is:

1) DNS:
check local DNS cache;
check hosts file;
query DNS server ( if configured);

if that fails, revert back to

2)NetBIOS:
Check Netbios name cache;
check LMHOSTS file;
Query WINS server ( if configured );
Try Netbios broadcasts.

On a win2k or above domain, the DNS server will be where it succeeds.
In a serverless workgroup, it will fall all the way down to the method of
last resort, Netbios broadcasts.
Here, all machines listen out for broadcasts containing their name, and
respond to the broadcaster with their IP address.

The exact priority within netbios ( wins / brodcast ) can be changed using a
parameter called NodeType.
What I described was the default, which is generally fine.

For name resolution, the browser does not come into it.
You can shut the browser system totally down on all the machines, and
Netbios broadcast name resolution will still work.

The browser's job is to maintain a list of machine names only, not IP
addresses.
This is only used to populate the 'browse list', which you see when you
'show workgroup computers', or do a 'net view'.
It also uses Netbios broadcasts to operate.

Hope this is illuminating!

Best Regards,
Ron Lowe