To WINS or not WINS

Hi all

We have two Windows 2003 Servers on our domain. I wonder if we need to set
up WINS servers since we are using Active Directory. What is the benefit of
WINS if we are using AD anyway?

Thanks.
axj

 

Some older applications won't work correctly without WINS/NetBIOS. For
example, we have an older version of ARCserve that needs WINS/NetBIOS. Even
though the app is running on Windows Server 2003, it can't browse server
shares without WINS/NetBIOS.

Also, I don't recall where I read this, but supposidly even Exchange 2003
requires WINS.

Lastly, as far as I can tell, WINS is still used for browsing (My Network
Places). This feature is not criticial for newer clients since they can use
AD to browse.

So try everything without WINS. If you find that you can't access some
resources or have unexplained Windows network issues, add a WINS server. The
nice thing about WINS is that it's not complicated to setup. It seems like
you have a small network, so a WINS config should be pretty simple.

Note that WINS is primary used for name resolution and browsing across
subnets. If you only have one subnet, then I definitely don't see a need for
WINS.

 

AD does not need WINS

however you may have apps/systems that still leverage WINS for NetBIOS name
resolution. check out which apps/systems use NetBIOS name resolution. WINS
is just the solution to accomodate that

--

Cheers,
(HOPEFULLY THIS INFORMATION HELPS YOU!)

# Jorge de Almeida Pinto # MVP Identity & Access - Directory Services #

BLOG (WEB-BASED)--> http://blogs.dirteam.com/blogs/jorge/default.aspx
BLOG (RSS-FEEDS)--> http://blogs.dirteam.com/blogs/jorge/rss.aspx

 

Thanks, Mel. Right now the network is small... but once we have more than a
couple of subnets, browsing can an issue. For example, Net View still
requires NetBIOS, I think.

Hmmm, maybe the answer is to set up WINS.

axj

 

Hello AXJ,

For AD you do not need WINS. If you will use network browsing over subnets,
you need WINS. Also some applications like exchange use it.

Best regards

Meinolf Weber

 

Hi
As others said,
-There're some Apps or internal mechanisms that may be WINS dependent
because they rely on NetBIOS resolution, WINS becomes important when using
those apps between different subnets, in this situation you'll need WINS
(between subnets ONLY) because in local lan those apps will work without
WINS.

-AD doesn't require WINS because relies on DNS.

-Apps that "MAY" need WINS:
-Exchange
-Network Browsing (My Network Places...)
-Legacy Apps.
-NT4 systems.
--
I hope that the information above helps you.
Have a Nice day.

Jorge Silva
MCSE, MVP Directory Services