Setting Up a WINS Server

Although networks consisting exclusively of servers and clients running Windows XP and Windows 2000 can safely do away with WINS (DNS replaces it), not many networks have this luxury yet.

WINS is an essential part of any large network with earlier Windows clients. It provides the equivalent of a DNS server for the NetBIOS namespace: WINS servers resolve NetBIOS names into IP addresses by using the WINS dynamic database to call up the appropriate name records.

Determining Whether You Need WINS

If you're asking yourself whether you need WINS at this point, the answer is probably yes. Most large networks need WINS to provide NetBIOS name resolution for their earlier Windows clients. However, here are some instances in which you don't need WINS servers:

• All clients on the network support name resolution through another method (for example, DNS). Windows XP, Windows 2000, and the upcoming Windows .NET Server family are currently the only Microsoft operating systems that can rely exclusively on DNS for name resolution, so unless all Windows clients are running one of these operating systems, you need WINS. If you have a mixed environment with other clients such as UNIX clients, make sure they're all configured to properly use DNS.
• The network is small (fewer than 50 clients) and not subnetted. If the entire network consists of a single network segment, clients that require NetBIOS name resolution can effectively resolve NetBIOS names by broadcast—a technique that doesn't work across routers or on large networks where the NetBIOS broadcasts would generate too much network traffic.

Also, before you implement WINS on your network, you must be aware of the WINS clients that are supported by WINS in Windows 2000 Server:

• Windows XP
• Windows 2000
• Microsoft Windows NT 3.5 or later
• Windows 95
• Windows 98
• Microsoft Windows Me
• Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11
• MS-DOS with Microsoft Network Client version 3
• MS-DOS with LAN Manager version 2.2c
• Linux and UNIX clients running Samba
• OS/2 with Microsoft LAN Manager version 2.2c

Non-WINS clients aren't resolvable by WINS unless static entries are added for them. This practice is strongly discouraged; don't use it unless absolutely necessary because static entries are extremely difficult to eliminate from the WINS database after replication takes place. Instead, clients should be configured to use DNS to resolve names that aren't in the WINS database.

Configuring the Server to Prepare for WINS

After you determine that you need WINS on your network, it's time to configure the server. The most common cause of WINS problems is improper TCP/IP configuration on the server. Follow these steps to properly configure the TCP/IP settings for the WINS server before you install the service:

1. Right-click the Local Area Connection icon in the Network and Dial-Up Connections folder, and choose Properties from the shortcut menu.
2. Select the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) component, and click Properties.
3. Configure the server to use a static IP address, or make sure that an address reservation for the server is configured on the DHCP server.
4. Click Advanced, and then click WINS.
5. Select any WINS servers listed in the tab and click Remove, as shown in Figure 14-27. Failure to do this can cause the WINS server to register its own address with another WINS server instead of with itself, which you don't want.

   

   Figure 14-27. The WINS tab of the Advanced TCP/IP Settings dialog box.

6. Click Add and type the IP address of your own server. Then click OK.

Installing WINS

After the TCP/IP settings are correct, you're ready to install the WINS component. Use the Windows Component Wizard, accessible either from the Configure Your Server tool or from Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. If you installed WINS during Windows Setup, you can skip this section. Otherwise, use these steps to install WINS:

1. Open the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel tool, and click the Add/Remove Windows Components icon in the frame on the left (the Places bar) to launch the Windows Component Wizard.
2. Click Next, select Networking Services from the list of components, and click Details.
3. Select the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) component check box, click OK, and then click Next.

Don't install WINS on a multihomed server. You can physically do it, but it often causes dreadful replication problems, especially if the server is on two different subnets.

Adding Replication Partners

WINS servers are easy to set up and require little management, except for replication partners. WINS replication is an important and somewhat delicate issue that you must examine closely before setting up. Deploy as few WINS servers as possible to minimize management migraines. For example, the entire Microsoft Corporation used only 12 WINS servers worldwide during the height of NetBIOS. Just about every enterprise can get by with a handful of WINS servers at most. Microsoft recommends one WINS server for each 10,000 users, plus one WINS server for redundancy.

Set up replication between WINS servers in a hub (star) pattern, with a single-master WINS server in the center and all other WINS servers replicating only with this server, using the push/pull method. Using a double hub with two master servers in the center can provide additional redundancy, but the replication problems that can arise generally outweigh the added reliability.

Chapter 13 contains a more thorough investigation of WINS deployment and replication planning. You can also refer to the Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit. To set up a replication partner and configure its settings after planning your WINS deployment, follow these steps:

1. Launch WINS from the Administrative Tools folder, and in the console tree expand the WINS server that you want to set up for replication.
2. Select the Replication Partners folder, and then choose New Replication Partner from the Action menu.
3. Type the IP address for the WINS server you want to enable replication with, and click OK.
4. To modify the replication parameters for the new replication partner, if necessary, double-click the server in the Replication Partners folder, and then click the Advanced tab.
5. To change the way you replicate with the server, choose an option from the Replication Partner Type drop-down list (Figure 14-28).

   

   Figure 14-28. The Advanced tab of the Properties dialog box.

6. To configure a permanent connection for pull or push replication, select the Use Persistent Connection For Replication check box in the Pull Replication section, the Push Replication section, or both.
7. In the Start Time fields, type the time you want pull replication to begin in hours, minutes, and seconds.
8. In the Replication Interval fields, type the frequency—days, hours, and minutes—with which you want to replicate with the replication partner.
9. Use the Number Of Changes In Version ID Before Replication box to type the number of changes to the local copy of the WINS database that you will allow before the server pushes changes to the replication partner.

Use push/pull replication on the entire WINS namespace to make troubleshooting replication problems easier. In addition, primary and backup WINS servers must use push/pull replication.

Miscellaneous WINS Functions

The WINS snap-in lets you manage all the functionality of WINS on multiple servers from the same application. The following are some functions you can perform with the WINS snap-in:

• To view the status of your WINS servers, click Server Status in the console tree. The status of your servers appears in the pane on the right.
• To view records in the WINS database, right-click the Active Registrations folder in the console tree under the desired server. Choose either Find By Name to search for a particular name or Find By Owner from the Action menu to display the Find By Owner dialog box, which shows all the records in the WINS database. When viewing records, you can use the Record Types tab of the Find By Owner dialog box to filter the type of records displayed.
• To add a static entry to the database, right-click the Active Registrations folder and choose New Static Mapping from the shortcut menu.

  Add static entries only for computers that do not support WINS and only if absolutely necessary. Static entries are notoriously difficult to eliminate after replication and can be deleted only by the owner.

• To initiate scavenging, which purges the WINS database and does general cleanup on it, select the WINS server you want to scavenge and choose Scavenge Database from the Action menu. When initiating scavenging, don't attempt to alter the scavenging parameters for WINS. These parameters have been extensively tested and optimized by Microsoft. Any change you make will be for the worse.
• To modify the properties for the WINS server, select the server you want to work on, and then choose Properties from the Actions menu. This displays the Properties dialog box shown in Figure 14-29, which you can use to modify the path to the backup copy of the WINS database, change the length of name leases, and modify logging and other options.

  

  Figure 14-29. The Properties dialog box for a WINS server.

More Info

If you're fortunate enough to have outgrown WINS on your network, it's time to decommission the WINS servers. For information about doing so, consult the Windows 2000 Server help system or the Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit.

Compacting the WINS Database

Microsoft recommends that you compact the WINS database file monthly or quarterly (at a minimum, whenever the database reaches 30 MB in size) to maximize performance and stability.

To do so, follow these steps:

1. Open a command prompt window.
2. Type the following commands:

   cd %systemroot%\system32\wins

   net stop wins

   jetpack wins.mdb tmp.mdb

   net start wins

More Info

For more information about the Jetpack.exe command, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q145881.