Name: Yussuf Yussuf

Student No: S3285379

Class: K1

Network Servers
What is WINS?

Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) is a NetBIOS Name Server that submits your
NetBIOS names and as a result, it resolves in creating IP addresses.

When using NetBIOS over TCP/IP network, you will need to have WINS running so that
each can help locate the correct IP address of the other in which it can communicate
with.

What does WINS do?

Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) reduces NetBIOS name query broadcast traffic
because clients can query a WINS server directly instead of broadcasting queries.

WINS enables the Computer Browser service to collect and distribute browse lists
across IP routers.

How does WINS do it?

WINS can be used in combination with DNS, which as a result, it can resolve domain
names, to connect to any network resource by referencing the resource’s user-friendly
name. It supports dynamic IP address assignments, thus eliminating the
administrative burden of maintaining static IP addresses.

WINS is programmed to work in a properly configured environment, which includes the

following:
• NetBT is enabled.
• DNS is configured correctly.
• DHCP is configured correctly.
• The network, including routers, is configured to handle name resolution traffic.
• WINS-configured servers are designed with sufficient CPU, memory, and hard
disk space to handle WINS activity.

The diagram below describes the WINS components, how they fit in a network
environment, and how NetBIOS name resolution processes work.

1
 Name: Yussuf Yussuf
Student No: S3285379
Class: K1

Why is WINS important?

Network address mappings are dynamically updated so that when a client needs to
contact another computer on the network it can get its up-to-date IP address which
may be issued by a DHCP server. Aside from this the WINS functionality provides a
way of keeping the client names unique on the network.

• WINS name resolution reduces NetBIOS name query broadcast traffic because
clients can query a WINS server directly instead of broadcasting queries.
• WINS enables the Computer Browser service to collect and distribute browse
lists across IP routers.
• The WINS dynamic name-to-address database supports NetBIOS name
registration and resolution in environments where DHCP-enabled clients are
configured for dynamic TCP/IP address allocation.
• The WINS database also supports centralized management and replicates
name-to-address mappings to other WINS servers.
• WINS and DNS can be used in the same environment to provide combined name
searches in both namespaces.

What is the future of WINS?

WINS can only be used on windows family of operating systems as its client will
available to all operating systems as the future of Internetworking systems expands.
DNS has also became popular and as a result is taking over the windows internet
name services.