How Windows-based clients resolve NetBIOS names by using WINS servers (870623)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
  • Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
  • Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
  • Microsoft Windows 98
  • Microsoft Windows NT 4.0
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
  • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5
  • Microsoft Windows 95

INTRODUCTION

If a Microsoft Windows NT 3.5-based client computer does not receive a response from the primary Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) server, it queries the secondary WINS server to resolve a NetBIOS name. However, if a NetBIOS name is not found in the primary WINS server's database, a Windows NT 3.5-based client does not query the secondary WINS server.

In Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 and later versions of the Windows operating system, a Windows-based client does query the secondary WINS server if a NetBIOS name is not found in the primary WINS server's database. Clients that are running the following versions of Windows behave this way:
  • Microsoft Windows NT 3.51
  • Microsoft Windows NT 4
  • Microsoft Windows 95
  • Microsoft Windows 98
  • Microsoft Windows 2000
  • Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
  • Microsoft Windows XP
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003

MORE INFORMATION

In Windows NT 3.51, Windows NT 4, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003, you can specify up to 12 WINS servers. Additional WINS servers are useful when a requested name is not found in the primary WINS server's database or in the secondary WINS server's database. In this situation, the WINS client sends a request to the next server in the list.

You can find a list of additional server names in the following registry subkey, where adapter_guid represents the GUID of your adapter:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\NetBT\Parameters\Interfaces\Tcpip_<adapter_guid>

Note Make sure that the NameServerList registry entry in this subkey has a multistring type (REG_MULTI_SZ).

REFERENCES

For additional information about WINS and Windows NT, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

137780 Change in WINS search order from Windows NT 3.5 to 3.51

For additional information about how WINS works, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/enterprise/proddocs/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/enterprise/proddocs/en-us/sag_WINS_ovr_howwinsworks.asp

For additional information about how TCP/IP is implemented in Windows 2000, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/itsolutions/network/deploy/depovg/tcpip2k.mspx

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:2/8/2006
Keywords:kbinfo KB870623 kbAudEndUser kbAudITPRO
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