Managing and Monitoring WINS

Most management and monitoring tasks can be performed within the WINS management console. Most of the maintenance tasks performed will be to the WINS database, such as ensuring it is backed up in the event it becomes corrupt and ensuring the database remains consistent over a period of time.

Backing Up and Restoring the WINS Database

You can configure a WINS server to periodically back up its local database through the WINS management console. From the WINS server Properties window, you can specify a backup location (see Figure 6.11). You can also right-click the WINS server and select the Backup Database option.

Figure 6.11. Configuring a backup for the WINS database from the WINS management console.

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After you specify a backup location, the WINS server creates the Wins_bak\NewFolder within the location you specify (see Figure 6.12) and backs up the local database to this location at the intervals you specify. You also have the option of selecting whether the WINS server should perform a backup when the server is shut down.

Figure 6.12. The WINS management console creates a Wins_bak folder in the location you specify.

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If you have a backup of the WINS database, you can restore it by right-clicking the WINS server, choosing the Restore Database option, and specifying the location of the backup folder. Keep in mind that before you perform a restore, the WINS service must be stopped . If the WINS service is running, the option to restore the database is not available.

Server Statistics

Viewing the statistics of a WINS server can provide an administrator with a general idea of what is happening. Within the WINS management console, you can right-click the WINS server and select the Display Server Statistics option. Some of the information provided includes when the server was last started, when replication last took place, and the number of name queries resolved.

Tombstoning

Records that are deleted or marked as extinct on one server can cause inconsistencies to the database of its replication partners . For example, a record that was deleted from the database on one server can easily still appear within the database of a replication partner.

Windows 2000 supports a feature known as tombstoning . Once a record is marked as tombstoned, it is no longer considered to be active on the local WINS server. The record remains within the local database for replications purposes. When a tombstoned record is replicated, all replication partners mark the record as being tombstoned. The record becomes extinct and is eventually removed from the database.

Records within the WINS database can be manually deleted or tombstoned using the following process:

  1. Within the WINS console, right-click the Active Registrations container and click either the Find by Name or Find by Owner option to locate the appropriate record.

  2. If you select Find by Name, type the NetBIOS name you are searching for. If you select Find by Owner, specify whether to have all entries in the local WINS database displayed or records from a specific WINS server. Click Find Now.

  3. In the Details pane, right-click the appropriate record and click Delete.

  4. Within the Delete Record dialog box, select one of the following options: Delete the record only from this server or Replicate deletion of the record to other servers (tombstone) .

Verifying Database Consistency

With multiple WINS servers configured for replication, a WINS database can become inconsistent over a period of time. Using the Verify Database Consistency and Verify Version ID Consistency options, an administrator can periodically perform database consistency checks. Checking the WINS database for inconsistencies forces the local WINS server to check all names replicated from other WINS servers and then to compare them to the local versions on the servers that own the records. The WINS server then updates its local records.



Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure Exam Cram 2 (Exam 70-216)
MCSE Windows 2000 Network Infrastructure Exam Cram 2 (Exam Cram 70-216)
ISBN: 078972863X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 167

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