nt4 & WINS

[jungle]

can you run WINS with out having a dns server on the same physical lan?

 

[ScottMac]

Absolutely. The two services are mutually exclusive. Good idea? Maybe not, depending on how your network is set up.

DHCP usually should be set up to update the WINS and DNS servers when it issues a new (or reused) address.

FWIW, Good Luck

Scott

 

[jungle]

ok, then can you tell me why my win9x machines running only the tcp/ip prot. can't see accross subnets....ie.. machine A (206.191.xxx.xxx) cannot see machine B (192.168.10.10). Well actually that isn't all true. The machines can ping each other, and if you do a search for that pc using the ip address, they can be social, but they can't use the netbios names. I just installed wins on my nt4 svr box. my router is doing NAT and the private ip's do get out to the i-net w/o a problem.

 

[me19562]

<<DHCP usually should be set up to update the WINS and DNS servers when it issues a new (or reused) address>>
This is for W2K server, not for NT4, dhcp service in NT4 don't update the DNS server, because of of this u don't have any problem runnig
WINS only in ur network, BTW i always install the WINS service in an NT4 domain because NT4 depend of the netbios and with WINS is the only
way to ensure that netbios over TCP/IP works fine for the netbios apps

 

[ScottMac]

It's not working because WINS is a broadcast-based service. In order to cross subnets (i.e., via router), some sort of forwarding of WINS broadcasts must occur, OR you must have a WINS proxy on the second(third, fourth, fifth) subnet that is talking to the WINS server (with unicasts, so it'll pass the router).

On a "real" router, there is usually a "helper" feature to pass or proxy specific broadcast-based services. Cisco calls it "Ip Helper," I think Nortel/Bay/Synoptics called it "BootP Helper." In Cisco's case, default is to pass a bunch of different services. You have to turn off the ones you don't like, don't want, or feel are a security risk.

If you put an entry in you C:\~\hosts file for the address of the WINS server (or the other host, for that matter), it'll allow your machine to resolve the address internally and get to the WINS server (or the other host directly....save yourself some grief).

FWIW

Scott

 

[me19562]

U already assigned the wins server ip address to the PC's and restarted every PC to register it's names in the WINS server?, if u did it, then the machines in the
206.191.xxx.xxx r in a DMZ?, if r in a DMZ u better use DNS and u can bind the DNS service with the WINS service and this might resolve solve problem

 

[me19562]

BTW for WINS works across subnets u need to have a WINS server on each subnet and then setup the WINS to replicate the databse between them.

 

[wlee]

Microsoft wants everyone to switch from WINS/NETBIOS to Win2K Active Directory. That will allow you to browse across diff subnets. If "upgrading" to Win2K-AS is not an option, then you might look into the new Symantec Firewall/VPN boxes. They are actually Nexland routers with RaptorVPN built in. They have a feature that specifically forwards NetBIOS. The least expensive model is about $300.

 

[jungle]

what if i put a 2nd nic in the wins server w/ an address as 192.168.10.x? even though it is on the same lan? or i suspose i could assign a 2nd address to the nic that is already there...

 

[me19562]

for assign a 2nd address to the nic that is already there, i think that don't work because the PC is still behind the NAT and if work that would be a security holes
and the same for adding a 2nd nic in the wins server. Which router u have? and u have more NT's server or only 1?

 

[jungle]

just an fyi; the origianal configuration (one nt4 box, w/ a real ip) seems to be working. both private and real ips are seeing each other. the only thing i can think of was that the WINS databases needed updating, which would happen over a 24hr period.