Looking For Recommendations on Global Options in DHCP

[devastator]

Our current setup consists of a mesh of OS's. Our main server currently is SBS 4.5 (Which we will be upgrading next year to SBS 2000-2003), we also have a Windows2000 Terminal Server (no active directory), and Windows 2000 secondary DNS Server (no active directory), and a Windows 2003 Print Server (no active directory).

Our workstation OS's consist of 30 Windows XP Pro Stations, 2 Windows 98SE stations, and 5 MAC OS X Stations.

My question is this. I have read that DNS is the recommended option for XP Pro and Windows 2000 stations instead of using WINS. So I have that configured, strangely, but it works. I have the SBS server as the main DNS server, and the Windows 2000 server as the secondary getting zone transfers from the SBS server. I have just set up DHCP and with the exception of the servers, macs, and printers all the other stations are assigned DHCP ip's and global options. What I have plugged into the global options are DNS servers, Router, Name Servers, and Domain.

So with such a mesh of os's everything works fine for the most part but i am still confused as to if we need a WINS server or do I need to add some NetBIOS over TCP/IP options in the DHCP global config. I notice when i do a NSLOOKUP only the servers are resolved and not the workstations. I can ping the workstations by name or ip with the exceptions of the MACS which can not ping by server or workstation names. I also notice on the XP stations to run netbios over tcpip is enabled.

I guess to finalize everything I am basically trying to understand why or if I need to run NetBIOS over TCP/IP or a WINS Server and assign those global options in the DHCP scope. (I understand that I would have to load and configure the WINS Server option before I added it to the global options).

Hope that makes sense?

 

[GlenJohnson]

98SE stations You'll want to use WINS for anything prior to the w2k os's. You could probably get away with a lmhosts file on them since you have only a couple of machines. No need to set up a wins server for 2 machines. The other option is to upgrade the pre w2k machines so you have a network that is totaly w2k compliant. Good luck.

Glen A. Johnson
"To fear the worst oft cures the worse."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616); English dramatist, poet.

Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884

 

[devastator]

So you don't think we need to enable netbios over tcpip in the DHCP global options?

we are scraping the Windows98 stations soon and the server we are upgrading early Spring of next year.

Thanks.

 

[GlenJohnson]

Move up the time frame for getting rid of the 98 machines, make you network as simple as possible. Good luck.

Glen A. Johnson
"To fear the worst oft cures the worse."
William Shakespeare (1564-1616); English dramatist, poet.

Want to get great answers to your Tek-Tips questions? Have a look at FAQ219-2884

 

[devastator]

Will do soon.


Thx.