Windows 7

Setting up WINS servers

To make a computer running Windows Server into a WINS server, you must install the WINS service. This service doesn't require a dedicated server and uses limited resources in most cases. This means you can install the WINS service on a DNS server, DHCP server, or domain controller. The only key requirement is that the WINS service can be installed only on a computer with a static IPv4 address. Although you can install WINS on a server with multiple IPv4 addresses or multiple network interfaces, this isn't recommended because the server might not be able to replicate properly with its replication partners. In most cases, you won't want to configure a domain controller as a WINS server.

You can install the WINS service by following these steps:

  1. In Server Manager, select Add Roles And Features on the Manage menu. This starts the Add Roles And Features Wizard. If the wizard displays the Before You Begin page, read the introductory text and then tap or click Next.
  2. On the Installation Type page, Role-Based Or Feature-Based Installation is selected by default. Tap or click Next.
  3. On the Server Selection page, you can choose to install roles and features on running servers or virtual hard disks. Either select a server from the server pool or select a server from the server pool on which to mount a virtual hard disk (VHD). If you are adding roles and features to a VHD, tap or click Browse and then use the Browse For Virtual Hard Disks dialog box to locate the VHD. When you are ready to continue, tap or click Next twice.
  4. On the Features page, select WINS Server. Tap or click Next. If additional features are required, you'll see an additional dialog box. Tap or click Add Features to close the dialog box, and add the required features to the server installation. When you are ready to continue, tap or click Next.
  5. Tap or click Install. When the wizard finishes installing the selected features, tap or click Close.

After you install WINS Server, the WINS console is available on the Tools menu in Server Manager. After you open the WINS console, select the WINS server you are working with to see its entries.

The only key postinstallation task for the WINS service is to configure replication partners. However, you should check the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) configuration of the WINS server. It should have only itself listed as the WINS server to use and shouldn't have a secondary WINS server. This prevents the WINS client on the server from registering itself with a different WINS database, which can cause problems.

To set the server's primary WINS server address to its own IP address and clear out any secondaries from the list, open Network And Sharing Center. In Network And Sharing Center, tap or click Change Adapter Settings. In Network Connections, press and hold or right-click the connection you want to work with and then select Properties. In the Properties dialog box, open the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box by doubletapping or double-clicking Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4). Tap or click Advanced to display the Advanced TCP/IP Settings dialog box, and then tap or click the WINS tab. Set the WINS server's IP address as the WINS server to use, and remove any additional WINS server addresses. When you're finished, tap or click OK twice and then Close.

You can remotely manage and configure WINS. Simply start the WINS console, press and hold or right-click the WINS node in the left pane, and select Add Server. In the Add Server dialog box, select WINS Server, type the name or IP address of the WINS server, and then tap or click OK.

The command-line counterpart to the WINS console is Netsh WINS. From the command prompt on a computer running Windows Server, you can use Netsh WINS to perform all the tasks available in the WINS console as well as to perform some additional tasks that can't be performed in the WINS console. To start Netsh WINS and access a particular WINS server, follow these steps:

  1. Start a command prompt, and then type netsh to start Netsh. The command prompt changes to netsh>.
  2. Access the WINS context within Netsh by typing wins. The command prompt changes to netsh wins>.
  3. Type server followed by the Universal Naming Convention (UNC) name or IP address of the WINS server, such as \\wins2 or \\10.10.15.2. If the WINS server is in a different domain from your logon domain, you should type the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the server, such as \\wins2.cpandl.com.
  4. The command prompt changes to netsh wins server>. You can now work with the selected server. If you later want to work with a different server, you can do this without having to start over. Simply type server followed by the UNC name or IP address of that server.
Note:
Technically, you don't need to type the double backslashes (\\) when you specify an IP address. You must, however, type \\ when you specify a server's name or FQDN. Because of this discrepancy, you might want to use \\ all the time so that you won't leave it out by accident when you need it.
Remember:
Resolving WINS replication errors Most WINS replication errors involve incorrectly configured WINS servers. If you see replication errors in the event logs, check the TCP/IP configuration of your WINS servers. Every WINS server in the organization should be configured as its own primary WINS server, and you should delete any secondary WINS server addresses. This ensures that WINS servers register their NetBIOS names only in their own WINS databases. If you don't configure WINS in this way, WINS servers might register their names with other WINS servers. This can result in different WINS servers owning the NetBIOS names that a particular WINS server registers and, ultimately, to problems with WINS itself. For more information on this issue: (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;321208).

Configuring replication partners

When you have two or more WINS servers on a network, you should configure replication between them. When servers replicate database entries with each other, they are said to be replication partners.

Replication Essentials

There are two replication roles for WINS servers:

  • Push Partner:
    A push partner is a replication partner that notifies other WINS servers that updates are available.
  • Pull Partner:
    A pull partner is a replication partner that requests updates.

By default, all WINS servers have replication enabled and replication partners are configured to use both push and pull replication. After a replication partner notifies a partner that there are changes using push replication, the partner can request the changes using pull replication. This pulls the changes down to its WINS database. In addition, all replication is done using persistent connections by default to increase efficiency.

Because replication is automatically enabled and configured, all you have to do to start replication is tell each WINS server about the other WINS servers that are available. On a small network, you can do this using the automatic replication partners feature. Because this can cause a lot of broadcast traffic on medium or large networks that contain many clients and servers, you'll probably want to designate specific replication partners to reduce broadcast traffic.

Configuring automatic replication partners

To configure automatic replication partners, follow these steps:

  1. Start the WINS console. If the server you want to configure as a partner isn't listed in the console, press and hold or right-click the WINS node in the left pane and select Add Server. In the Add Server dialog box, select WINS Server, type the name or IP address of the WINS server, and then tap or click OK.
  2. Expand the server entry, press and hold or right-click the Replication Partners entry in the left pane, and then select Properties. In the Replication Partners Properties dialog box, tap or click the Advanced tab.
  3. Select the Enable Automatic Partner Configuration check box.
  4. Use the Multicast Interval options to set the interval between multicast broadcasts to the WINS server group address. These broadcasts are used to tell other WINS servers about the availability of the server you are configuring. The default interval is 0 minutes, which disables WINS broadcasts.

    Registrations Remain Until Restart
    After a server is discovered and added as a partner through multicasting, the server remains as a configured partner until you restart the WINS service or until you restart the server. When WINS is shut down properly, part of the shutdown process is to send messages to current replication partners and remove its registration.

  5. Use the Multicast Time To Live (TTL) combo box to specify how many links multicast broadcasts can go through before being discarded. The default is 2, which allows the broadcasts to be relayed through two routers.
  6. Tap or click OK.
Multicast through routers is possible
The Multicast TTL is used to allow the discovery broadcasts to be routed between subnets. This means you can use automatic replication partners on networks with subnets. However, routing isn't automatic just because a datagram has a TTL. You must configure the routers on each subnet to forward multicast traffic received from the WINS multicast group address (224.0.1.24).

Using designated replication partners

To designate specific replication partners, start the WINS console. If the server you want to configure as a partner isn't listed in the console, press and hold or right-click the WINS node in the left pane and select Add Server. In the Add Server dialog box, select WINS Server, type the name or IP address of the WINS server, and then tap or click OK.

Next, expand the server entry, press and hold or right-click the Replication Partners entry in the left pane, and select New Replication Partners. In the New Replication Partner dialog box, type the name or IP address of the WINS server that should be used as a replication partner and then tap or click OK. The replication partner is added and listed as available in the WINS console. Replication partners are listed by server name, IP address, and replication type.

By default, the replication partner is configured to use both push and pull replication as well as persistent connections. After you configure a replication partner, the configuration is permanent. If you restart a server, you do not need to reconfigure replication partners.

To view or change the replication settings for a replication partner, start the WINS console. Expand the server entry for the server you want to work with, and then select the Replication Partners entry in the left pane. Double-tap or double-click the replication partner in the details pane. This displays the replication partner's Properties dialog box. Tap or click the Advanced tab.

The configuration options are used as follows:

  • Replication Partner Type Sets the replication type as push, pull, or push/pull.
  • Pull Replication
    • Use Persistent Connection For Replication: Configures pull replication so that a persistent connection is used. This reduces the time spent opening and closing connections and improves performance.
    • Start Time: Sets the hour of the day when replication should begin using a 24-hour clock.
    • Replication Interval: Sets the frequency of replication. The default is every 30 minutes.
  • Push Replication
    • Use Persistent Connection For Replication Configures push replication so that a persistent connection is used. This reduces the time spent opening and closing connections and improves performance.
    • Number Of Changes In Version ID Before Replication Can be used to limit replication by allowing replication to occur only when a set number of changes have occurred in the local WINS database.
Note:
By default, Number Of Changes In Version ID Before Replication is set to 0, which allows replication at the designated interval whenever there are changes. If you set a specific value, that many changes must occur before replication takes place.
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In this tutorial:

  1. Maintaining WINS
  2. Setting up WINS servers
  3. Configuring and maintaining WINS