For networks with servers running Windows 2000 Server and all other computers running Windows 2000 Professional, NetBIOS is no longer required for TCP/IP-based networking. Because of this change, WINS is needed for most networks but might not be required in some instances. In this lesson, you learn how to implement WINS on your network.
After this lesson, you will be able to
Estimated lesson time: 40 minutes
When deciding whether you need to use WINS, you should first consider the following questions:
Before you implement WINS in an internetwork, consider the number of WINS servers you will need. Only one WINS server is required for an internetwork because requests for name resolution are directed datagrams that can be routed. Two WINS servers ensure a backup system for fault tolerance. If one server becomes unavailable, the second server can be used to resolve names. You should also consider the following WINS server recommendations:
Before you install WINS, you should determine that your server and clients meet the configuration requirements. The WINS service must be configured on at least one computer within the TCP/IP internetwork running Windows NT Server or Windows 2000 Server (it does not have to be a domain controller). The server must have an IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and other TCP/IP parameters. These parameters can be assigned by a DHCP server, but statically assigned parameters are recommended.
A WINS client can be a computer running any of the following supported operating systems:
The client must have an IP address of a WINS server configured for a primary WINS server or for primary and secondary WINS servers.
Follow these steps to install WINS on a Windows 2000-based server:
The Windows Component wizard opens.
The Networking Services dialog box appears.
Mapped name-to-address entries can be added to WINS in either of two ways:
Static entries are only useful when you need to add a name-to-address mapping to the server database for a computer that does not directly use WINS. For example, in some networks, servers running other operating systems cannot register a NetBIOS name directly with a WINS server. Although these names might be added to and resolved from an LMHOSTS file or by querying a DNS server, you might consider using a static WINS mapping instead.
Follow these steps to configure a static mapping:
The New Static Mapping dialog box appears, as illustrated in Figure 13.9.
Figure 13.9 The Add Static Mapping dialog box
You can also add additional static mapping entries, see table 13.3. Click Apply each time you complete an entry, and then click Cancel to close when you finish adding static mapping entries.
Table 13.3 Static WINS Mapping Types
Type option | Description |
---|---|
Unique | A unique name maps to a single IP address. |
Group | Also referred to as a "Normal" group. When adding an entry to a group by using WINS Manager, you must enter the computer name and IP address. However, the IP addresses of individual members of a group are not stored in the WINS database. Because the member addresses are not stored, there is no limit to the number of members that can be added to a group. Broadcast name packets are used to communicate with group members. |
Domain Name | A NetBIOS name-to-address mapping that has 0x1C as the 16th byte. A domain group stores up to a maximum of 25 addresses for members. For registrations after the 25th address, WINS overwrites a replica address or, if none is present, it overwrites the oldest registration. |
Internet Group | Internet groups are user-defined groups that enable you to group resources, such as printers, for easy reference and browsing. An Internet group can store up to a maximum of 25 addresses for members. A dynamic member, however, does not replace a static member added by using WINS Manager or importing the LMHOSTS file. |
Multihomed | A unique name that can have more than one address. This is used for multihomed computers. Each multihomed group name can contain a maximum of 25 addresses. For registrations after the 25th address, WINS overwrites a replica address or, if none is present, it overwrites the oldest registration. |
If a computer is a DHCP client, you can configure the DHCP server to provide DHCP clients with WINS configuration information. However, you can also manually configure WINS clients. If you manually configure WINS client computers with IP addresses of one or more WINS servers, those values take precedence over the same parameters that a DHCP server provides.
The Local Area Connection Properties dialog box appears.
The Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box appears.
Figure 13.10 The WINS service on a Windows 2000 client
The TCP/IP WINS Server dialog box closes and the WINS server you entered will be added to the list in the Advanced TCP/IP Settings dialog box.
The following conditions can indicate basic problems with WINS:
The first action you should take to resolve WINS problems is to verify that the appropriate services are running. You can do this at both the WINS server and WINS client.
Follow these steps to verify running services:
If services do not start properly, you can use the Computer Management administrative tool to check the status column of the services, and then try to start them manually. If the service cannot be started, use Event Viewer to check the system event log and determine the cause of failure.
NOTE
For WINS clients, "Started" should appear in the status column for TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper service. For WINS servers, "Started" should appear in the status column for Windows Internet Name Service (WINS).
The most common WINS client problem is failed name resolution. When name resolution fails at a client, first answer the following questions to identify the source of the problem:
NOTE
If the WINS server does not respond to a direct ping, the source of the problem is likely to be a network connectivity problem between the client and the WINS server.
The most common WINS server problem is the inability to resolve names for clients. When a server fails to resolve a name for its clients, the failure most often is discovered by clients in one of two ways:
If you determine that a WINS-related problem does not originate at the client, answer the following question to further troubleshoot the source of the problem at the WINS server of the client:
If the WINS server is failing or registering database corruption errors, you can use WINS database recovery techniques to help restore WINS operations. You can back up the WINS database by using the WINS administrative console. First, you specify a backup directory for the database, and then WINS executes database backups. The backup is performed every 3 hours by default. If your WINS database becomes corrupted, you can easily restore it. The easiest way to restore a local server database is to replicate data back from a replication partner. If the corruption is limited to a certain number of records, you can repair them by forcing replication of uncorrupted WINS records. This removes the affected records from other WINS servers. If changes are replicated among WINS servers quickly, the best way to restore a local WINS server database is to use a replication partner, provided that the WINS data is mostly up to date on the replication partner.
The WINS console is fully integrated with the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) which provides the user with a powerful and more user-friendly tool you can customize for your efficiency. Because all server administrative utilities included for your use in Windows 2000 Server are part of MMC, new MMC-based utilities are easier to use, as they operate more predictably and follow a common design. In addition, several useful WINS features from earlier versions of Windows NT Server that were only configurable through the registry are now more directly usable. These include the ability to block records by a specific owner or WINS replication partner (formerly known as Persona Non Grata) or the ability to allow override of static mappings (formerly known as Migrate On/Off). In this lesson, you learn how to manage and monitor WINS through the WINS console.
You should view WINS server statistics periodically to monitor performance. By default, statistics automatically refresh every 10 minutes. You can also disable this feature by clearing the Automatically Update Statistics Every check box.
Follow these steps to open the WINS Server Statistics dialog box:
To implement WINS, both the server and client require configuration. Configuring a static mapping for non-WINS clients allows WINS clients on remote networks to communicate with them. When troubleshooting WINS, the first thing you should do is verify that the appropriate services are running.