Remove WINS

[Tom]

Can WINS be removed from an NT/2000 mixed server network? The workstations
are WIN98 and Win2K. What kind of problems would that create for the local
Exchange server? The network people feel they can use DNS and manually set
the WIN98 to use the DNS. They are worried that the Exchange server will
get configured wrong. I think they should fix the WINS config and forget
all DNS until we are WIN2k or above.

Thanks for any opions, comment, or KB article numbers!
Tom

 

[Marina Roos]

No. W9x, ME and NT4 still need WINS.
If you remove it, they will have major logonissues.
DNS on the servernic(s) should just point to the server-IP. In DHCP-server,
Scope options, options 003, 006, 015, 044 and 046(0x8) should be set. This
will push all the necessary values to the clients if they are set to obtain
an IP and DNS automatically from the DHCP-server.

Marina

 

[Marc Reynolds [MSFT]]

You need to know if your applications rely on NetBIOS, many do.

 

[Tom]

Thanks for the information. When I was networking we didnt have alot of
problems with WINS. The group now handling networking is having alot of
issues with the WINS and the workstations not resolving properly. I think
its a corruption...they feel its just typical WINS. I dont think that
Exchange uses the WINS service for handling email. Do you know if that is
true?

Thanks so much for your comments


No. W9x, ME and NT4 still need WINS.
If you remove it, they will have major logonissues.
DNS on the servernic(s) should just point to the server-IP. In DHCP-server,
Scope options, options 003, 006, 015, 044 and 046(0x8) should be set. This
will push all the necessary values to the clients if they are set to obtain
an IP and DNS automatically from the DHCP-server.

Marina

 

[Tom]

Thanks for the information. When I was networking we didnt have alot of problems with WINS. The group now handling networking is having alot of issues with the WINS and the workstations not resolving properly. I think its a corruption...they feel its just typical WINS. I dont think that Exchange uses the WINS service for handling email. Do you know if that is true?

Thanks so much for your comments





No. W9x, ME and NT4 still need WINS.
If you remove it, they will have major logonissues.
DNS on the servernic(s) should just point to the server-IP. In DHCP-server,
Scope options, options 003, 006, 015, 044 and 046(0x8) should be set. This
will push all the necessary values to the clients if they are set to obtain
an IP and DNS automatically from the DHCP-server.

Marina

 

[Jeff Cochran]

Can WINS be removed from an NT/2000 mixed server network?

maybe, if you have another means of NetBIOS name resolution, such as
broadcast. But why? It's not costing you anything and it doesn't
take any real admin time.

The network people feel they can use DNS and manually set
the WIN98 to use the DNS. They are worried that the Exchange server will
get configured wrong. I think they should fix the WINS config and forget
all DNS until we are WIN2k or above.

WINS is pretty much an install and forget type of product. Set the
clients to the correct primary and secondary DNS, and correct primary
and secondary WINS. Set WINS replication if you have two or more WINS
servers. Using DHCP, clients should pick this up automatically
anyway.

But, they *are* the network guys. They may know something you don't,
and their the ones who have to make it work.

Of course, you may have apps theat need NetBIOS resolution and be
unable to drop WINS even after Windows itself doesn't need it.

Jeff

 

[Jeff Cochran]

Thanks for the information. When I was networking we didnt have alot of
problems with WINS. The group now handling networking is having alot of
issues with the WINS and the workstations not resolving properly. I think
its a corruption...they feel its just typical WINS. I dont think that
Exchange uses the WINS service for handling email. Do you know if that is
true?

It depends on what you mean by "handling the mail." WINS may be the
name resolution used by clients connecting to the Exchange server, and
it may be the resolution method used for connecting between Exchange
servers, depending on what esle is available.

Jeff

 

[Marina Roos]

Exchange uses WINS for those W9x/ME/NT4-clients.
Install WINS.

Marina