Replicating WINS servers on Linux with Samba4Wins

Winning Edge

© James Thew, Fotolia.com

© James Thew, Fotolia.com

Article from Issue 102/2009
Author(s):

Samba4Wins lets you set up a WINS server for NetBIOS name resolution in Linux.

Although in recent years Microsoft has attempted to place more emphasis on DNS, the reality is, if you work on a network with Windows systems, it is almost impossible to escape the NetBIOS protocol system.

NetBIOS helps clients locate resources and find login servers. To do this, it normally broadcasts to UDP port 137. Besides flooding the network with broadcast traffic, this approach doesn't work on routed networks. Routers do not forward broadcasts, so the request stays in the network segment where it started.

The Windows implementation of the NetBIOS name server, WINS (Windows Internet Name Service), resolved the issue by dynamically maintaining a database of NetBIOS names. Clients don't need to broadcast to reserve and resolve names; instead, they send UDP packets to the WINS server (Figure 1). In all versions of Windows, the administrator needs to set the WINS server IP address in the advanced section of the Wins tab below the TCP/IP protocol property settings. Administrators with Samba define the WINS server address by setting the wins server = IP address parameter in the [global] section of smb.conf. Routers will forward targeted UDP packets to the WINS server, and the presence of it reduces broadcast traffic.

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Download Article PDF now with Express Checkout
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
Print Issues
Digital Issues
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Print Subscriptions
Digital Subscriptions

Related content

  • Samba 4

    A technical preview version of Samba 4 became available at the end of January. We took a look at what’s coming in the next version of the Samba file and print service suite.

    more »
  • Samba 4

    Samba 4 has been around for more than three years, but some users still shy from it. If you are still sitting on the fence, this tour through some of the new features and capabilities might help you decide whether it is finally time to upgrade.

    more »
  • Samba 4

    Since the release of the final version, Samba 4 has become increasingly significant in IT practice; now it has found its way into Jessie, the next Debian release. We take a look at the new features.

    more »
  • Clustered Samba

    Fail-safe is a massive topic for file server admins. Thanks to the CTDB and Ceph, you can put Samba in a cluster with minimal complications.

    more »
  • Samba for Clusters

    Samba Version 3.3 and the CTDB lock manager provide full cluster support.

    more »
comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News

Tag Cloud

Administration Community Desktop Events Hardware Linux Mobile Programming Security Software Ubuntu Web Development Windows free software open source