Windows NT TCP/IP Network Administration

Windows Internet Name Service

Historically, Microsoft Networking meant small, peer networks running NetBIOS. NetBIOS was designed with small networks in mind. It was never intended to function in a large scale network environment, let alone in a TCP/IP internetworking environment. When Microsoft decided to extend their networking to encompass the enterprise, they had to find a way to incorporate NetBIOS into the enterprise network. Their solution is an implementation of NetBIOS-over-TCP/IP as defined in the Internet standards:

• RFC1001 Protocol standard for a NetBIOS service on a TCP/UDP transport: Concepts and methods. This RFC provides an overview of NetBIOS over TCP/IP protocols, focusing on underlying concepts rather than on implementation details.

• RFC 1002 Protocol standard for a NetBIOS service on a TCP/UDP transport: Detailed specifications. This RFC defines the detailed implementation issues for NetBIOS over TCP/IP, including packet definitions, protocols, and so forth.

NetBIOS names must map to IP addresses to run NetBIOS-over-TCP/IP. The Microsoft Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) is a centralized dynamic database that maps NetBIOS resource names to IP addresses. WINS overcomes the administrative burdens and functional limitations associated with using other methods NetBIOS name resolution like static LMHOSTS files and IP broadcasts.

Each host running NetBIOS over TCP/IP is uniquely identified by two names: the Windows Computer Name, which is also called the NetBIOS name, ...