WINS vs DNS 1

[teknoguy]

could someone tell me where i would use wins or dns. i know what they do - resolves names to ip addresses, but i just don't know why you would have a wins server and a dns server on the same segment. what computers would use wins and what computers would use dns.

thanks a bunch.

 

[jjgraf]

Just some added stuff.

According to Microsoft TCP/IP Core Networking Guide, Chapter 7 page 493

B-node:
Uses IP broadcast meassage to register and resole NetBIOS names to IP-addresses. Windows 2000-based computers can use modifed B-node name resolution

P-node:
Uses point to point communcations with a NetBIOS name server (in Windows 2000-based networks, this is the WINS server) to register and resolve computers name to IP addresses.

M-node:
Uses a mix of B-node and P-node commucations to register and resolve NetBIOS names. Mnode first uses broadcast resolution; then, if necessary, it uses a server query

H-node:
Uses a hybrid of B-node and P-node. an H-node computer always tries a server query first and uses broadcast only if direct quiers fail. Windows 2000-based computers are configured to use hnode by defaul. to reduce IP broadcast, these computers use an LMHOSTS file to search for name to IP address mappings before using B-node IP broadcasts.



NOTE that using P-node the client will not resort to broadcasting according to MS. but there is a draw back that if your network is large and the server lives far away from the client; the client my never resolve a Netbios name to IP address, and then you allso have problems where name does not get unregistered or updated. the client only tries 3 times and then fails and does no more in P-node.

 

[Glennn]

Wow, enlightement sort of. I run a mixed environment. Without a WINS server, all hell broke loose in name resolution. I was forced to place WINS on each of my 3 site DC's (redundancy and LOCAL resolution). WINS appears to be mandatory.

FTR, my MMC console is constantly dropping conections to these DC's regardless of whether FQDN can resolve or not so now DNS is suspect. ( have posted this question in a previous forum).

P'aps one of these is not configured properly ?

 

[ShackDaddy]

Dellboy, I actually have written some things on WINS and DNS and other networking subjects. In the New Riders Press book Windows 2000 Essential Reference I contributed the chapters on WINS, DNS and DHCP. The whole book is a valuable reference, although the fact that it was written by ten authors may have led to some inconsistencies in tone and approach.

I was also one of Bill Boswell's technical editors for his Inside Windows 2000 Server so I had the happy fate of being forced to read every word in every chapter of the book, and the daunting task of trying to find fault with them. He's working on a new Inside Windows .Net Server now, and I'm happily involved in that too.

I'm sure welshguy would be as able a technical editor as I have tried to be, but at least he probably has his evenings free.