Inside Windows® Server 2003

Chapter 4. Managing NetBIOS Name Resolution

ALTHOUGH WINDOWS SERVER 2003 IS UNQUESTIONABLY a TCP/IP product, a few vestiges of its NetBIOS ancestors still lurk in the shadows. These vestiges make their appearance when you try to resolve a computer name or service name into an IP address when mapping network drives or using other features of Windows networking.

For example, consider the domain configuration shown in Figure 4.1. If the Windows client cannot determine the IP addresses corresponding to the domains and their domain controllers, the client cannot authenticate itself or any of its users. If it cannot resolve the names of servers, it cannot connect users to network resources. Name resolution, therefore, is a vital task. You should focus ...