Last updated:
22 October 2006;
Supplements this
Knowledgebase Article.
The Need For Name Resolution
To ensure
successful communication on a network, your systems need to be able to
associate a name with an IP (or other relevant network number) so that users
do not need to memorize the numeric identifier, such as a TCP/IP address. Proper name resolution is
essential for fast network communication, and if it is not configured correctly, your network will
be slow, and your network
users will be unhappy. On Windows
networks running TCP/IP, the following options exist for name resolution:
Host Name Resolution
NetBIOS Name Resolution
LMHOSTS ........... Static
WINS ................. Dynamic
DNS ................... Dynamic
(not the default for NT4 or earlier) HOSTS ............... Static (with
NT/2000/XP/2003)
Although
commonly advocated, there is no need to run NETBEUI on your Windows
network. It is a chatty, non-routable broadcast protocol, and only useful on
very small networks, or if you don't want to connect to the Internet at all.
Instead, you can rely on NetBIOS support, tunneled over another protocol
such as TCP/IP. All versions of 32-bit Windows support NetBIOS over
TCP/IP.
If you want to use DNS for resolving NetBIOS names on versions of Windows
prior to Windows 2000, you must go into the TCP/IP properties in the
Control Panel and enable "Use DNS for Windows Resolution".
With 2000, XP and 2003, Windows has an increased reliance on DNS, whether on
a peer network or through Active Directory.
If you are unable to get Windows 95/98/ME machines to talk to
systems in the Windows NT-family without installing NetBEUI, then it is very likely
that you have not setup NetBIOS Name Resolution for your client systems.
Also, remember that NetBIOS traffic should always be confined to your internal network ONLY. There is no need to allow NetBIOS
traffic to traverse the Internet or another public network without the
benefit of a VPN.
NETBIOS vs. NETBEUI
Many folks confuse
NETBIOS and
NETBEUI. The former, is a program (API) developed by IBM
which allows applications on a LAN to communicate. The latter is a
chatty, non-routable protocol originally used by LAN Manager, and
subsequently by Windows, to provide the frame and data format for NetBIOS
traffic. NetBEUI = NetBIOS Extended User Interface
Under
Windows, NetBIOS can be transported over other protocols such as IPX and
TCP/IP. Starting with Windows 2000, Microsoft networks are no longer dependent on
NetBIOS for communication, although you still need it for browsing Network
Neighborhood and for using certain utilities such as the Windows Messenger
Service (NET SEND).
Where Are My HOSTS/LMHOSTS Files?
Both the HOSTS and LMHOSTS
files can be found in the same location. Neither of these files has a
file extension. The .SAM files found in the same location are sample files,
and must be renamed to be used by Windows.
If creating or editing these files in
NOTEPAD, be sure to place the name in quotes so that NOTEPAD does not add a
.TXT extension to the saved file. Or just use
Textpad to edit all your files.
To speed up name resolution on a peer-to-peer
network, add the name and IP of each machine on your network to the HOSTS
file on each machine. This will make it easier for the systems to find each
other without waiting for broadcast messages.
Example:
127.0.0.1
localhost
172.30.50.11 workstation1
172.30.50.12 workstation2
172.30.50.13 workstation3
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