You Cannot Use the Secondary WINS Server to Resolve Names When the Primary WINS Server Is Unavailable (811513)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP3
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP2
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server SP1
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP3
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP2
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP1
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP3
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP2
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server SP1

SYMPTOMS

When you use Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) for name resolution, name resolution may not work as expected.

CAUSE

This problem may occur if both of the following conditions are true:
  • The primary WINS server is unavailable on the network.

    -and-
  • Client records are not refreshed to the secondary WINS server.
If the primary WINS server is unavailable for a significant period of time, client records may expire and be removed from the WINS database. In this scenario, name resolution does not work correctly.

RESOLUTION

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Microsoft Windows 2000. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

260910 How to Obtain the Latest Windows 2000 Service Pack

Hotfix information

A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Only apply it to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix may receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next Windows 2000 service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem immediately, contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services telephone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

File information

The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel. 

Date         Time   Version        Size     File name
-----------------------------------------------------
14-Jan-2003  18:42  5.0.2195.6654  163,568  Netbt.sys


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4.

MORE INFORMATION

Starting with Windows 2000 SP4 and later, if the primary WINS server is started, the secondary WINS server is stopped. If the client registers with a primary WINS server that has a Time-to-Live (TTL) value of less than two hours, at approximately half of the TTL value, the client tries to refresh with the secondary WINS Server, but it cannot because the secondary WINS server is stopped. The client continues to send refresh packets to the secondary WINS server until the time the TTL value expires. At that time, it refreshes with the primary WINS server.

Note This scenario was tested when the WINS server TTL value was set to both 40 minutes (the minimum setting) and to two hours.

When you run the nbtstat -rr command, the command releases with both WINS servers, but it refreshes with secondary WINS servers only, and then it repeats this behavior. If both the primary WINS server and the secondary WINS server are started, at about half of the TTL value, the client refreshes with the secondary WINS server, and it is registered with the secondary WINS server with a new TTL. value. The nbtstat -rr command releases with both WINS servers, and refreshes with the secondary WINS server only.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/10/2005
Keywords:kbHotfixServer kbQFE kbWin2kSP4fix kbWin2000preSP4Fix kbfix kbbug kbNetwork KB811513 kbAudITPRO
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