Different NetBIOS domains in the same DNS namespace

[MartijnM]

Hi,

Anyone aware of any issues with using 1 DNS namespace across 2 NetBIOS domains? In other words: I have a Windows domain called ACME and one called ACME-INC, but ALL of the machines in those domains are registered in the DNS zone acme.mycompany.com.

Note that the DNS domain name matches the NetBIOS domain name for the first one, and this domain also still has NT4 DC's. ACME-INC has AD and consists of only Win2000 boxes.

I am experiencing a myriad of problems that all seem to be related to name resolution issues, so I am just wondering if this is something to consider as a source for my misfortune.

Thanks for any help or thoughts on the topic.

Martijn Middelplaats
CCDA, CCNA, MCSA, MCSE
martijn@middelplaats.net

 

[dmandell]

I don't thow if this is useful to know, but we are curently running a different NetBIOS DOMAIN than our DNS domain in a mixed mode environment without issues, so I am assuming this is not a problem.
Dana

 

[MartijnM]

Dana,

Thanks, but what I am concerned about, is whether or not the specific names used could cause AD and/or DNS problems. The ACME domain is a Windows NT 4 domain. The ACME-INC domain is a Windows 2000 domain, in mixed mode, but without any NT4 DCs. The DNS namespace for this (NetBIOS) ACME-INC domain however, is acme.mycompany.com.....the domain part of which is identical to the first (NT4) NetBIOS Domain name.

Does that make sense at all?

M

Martijn Middelplaats
CCDA, CCNA, MCSA, MCSE
martijn@middelplaats.net

 

[brontosaurus]

yes, that makes sense, and yes, that can cause problems.
are all your clients W2K?

 

[MartijnM]

Yes, all of our clients are W2K, except for 1 (Win98) but that machine is insignificant and is not included in the list of systems experiencing problems.

Any thoughts on what kind of problems we might expect?

M Martijn Middelplaats
CCDA, CCNA, MCSA, MCSE
martijn@middelplaats.net

 

[brontosaurus]

in general, there are certain services and protocols that pass NetBios names as opposed to FQDN's, which of course would result in the behavior you're experiencing. If that 2K domain has no NT BDC's, you should consider going to Native mode (if you haven't done so already) and disabling NBT on your 2K clients so that DNS does the lion's share of the resolving for them.
Do these domains share any subnets? Do the 2K clients need resources from the NT domains still?

 

[MartijnM]

Brontosaurus,

Thanks for pointing that out. Now, if I disable NBT on our clients, does that render them incapable of USING NetBIOS based services, or does it simply make those services rely on name resolution using DNS/AD and NetBIOS adapter status requests? In other words, since I am not entirely sure we are not using any applicatons or services on our network that rely on NetBIOS, will disabling NBT on the clients just affect the way it resolves the NetBIOS names, or will it cause the apps to fail?

MM
Martijn Middelplaats
CCDA, CCNA, MCSA, MCSE
martijn@middelplaats.net

 

[brontosaurus]

yes, the theory is that certain services will rely only on DNS, and others (like file sharing) will rely on SMB. In addition, you're also supposed to retain "browsing" ability to some extent, although the method of acquiring workgroup info is obviously different. The clients will just stop listening on ports 137, 138, and 139.
NOW, that's not to say making these changes will be seamless for you, as I've never actually found myself in a situation where ALL my clients went without NBT, but it's definitely do-able.

 

[MartijnM]

Brontosaurus,

Thanks for your help in this matter; your input will help me figure out this situation!

MM Martijn Middelplaats
CCDA, CCNA, MCSA, MCSE
martijn@middelplaats.net