Configuring WINS Client Computers

2.1. Configuring a Windows 95, 98 or Me Workstation to use WINS

• Make sure that the PC is named in accordance with the naming standards (see the Before you Begin — Naming the Computer section above). If it is not, first pick a name that conforms to the standards, then go to the Network control panel and click on the Identification tab and enter the name that you have selected as the Computer Name.
• In the Network control panel, select [TCP/IP] and go into Properties.
• Click on the WINS tab.
• Select [Enable WINS Resolution] and enter the two WINS server addresses as 163.1.2.52 and 129.67.1.52 if you are a department, or 129.67.1.52 and 163.1.2.52 if you are a college.
• Close the control panel and reboot.

2.2. Configuring a Windows NT Workstation to use WINS

• Make sure that the PC is named in accordance with the naming standards (see the Before you Begin — Naming the Computer section above). If it is not, first pick a name that conforms to the standards. Then go to the Network control panel and click on the Identification tab and click on Change to enter a unique computer name.
• Click on the Protocols tab, select [TCP/IP Protocol] and go into Properties.
• Click on the WINS Address tab.
• Enter the primary and secondary WINS server addresses as 163.1.2.52 and 129.67.1.52 if you are a department, or 129.67.1.52 and 163.1.2.52 if you are a college. You can disable [LMHOSTS lookup] unless you know that you need to use it.
• Close the control panel and reboot.

2.3. Configuring a Windows NT Server to use WINS

• If you are setting up a new server, make sure that the PC is named in accordance with the naming standards (see the Before you Begin — Naming the Computer section above). If necessary, rename it by going to the Network control panel and clicking on the Identification tab and then on Change to change the computer name. However, renaming a domain controller, or a server running major software (e.g. Exchange, SQL Server etc.) is not a good idea, so if your server has been around for a while, don't rename it. Instead contact winsmaster who can check whether there is already a server with this name in the database, and who can if necessary put in a static entry for your server to stop any other computer using the name (see Protecting or Registering Server Names using Static Mappings below.)
• Click on the Protocols tab, select [TCP/IP Protocol] and go into Properties.
• Click on the WINS Address tab.
• Enter the primary and secondary WINS server addresses as 163.1.2.52 and 129.67.1.52 if you are a department, or 129.67.1.52 and 163.1.2.52 if you are a college. You can disable [LMHOSTS lookup] unless you know that you need to use it.
• Close the control panel and reboot.

2.4. Configuring a Windows 2000 Professional Workstation to use WINS

• Make sure that the PC is named in accordance with the naming standards (see the Before you Begin — Naming the Computer section above). If it is not, first pick a name that conforms to the standards, then go to the System control panel and click on the Network Identification tab, then on Properties and enter a unique computer name. Close the control panel and either reboot now or at the end.
• Go to the Network and Dial-up Connections control panel, select Local Area Connection and select [File/Properties].
• Select [Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)] and go to Properties.
• Click on Advanced, then on the WINS tab.
• Add the WINS addresses 163.1.2.52 and 129.67.1.52 if you are a department, or 129.67.1.52 and 163.1.2.52 if you are a college. You can disable[ LMHOSTS lookup] unless you know that you need to use it.
• Close the control panel. You won't be prompted to reboot, but you may need to anyway.

2.5. Configuring a Windows 2000 Server to use WINS

• If you are setting up a new server, make sure that the PC is named in accordance with the naming standards (see the Before you Begin — Naming the Computer section above). If necessary, rename it by going to the System control panel and clicking on the Network Identification tab, then on D and entering a unique computer name. However, renaming a domain controller is impossible, and renaming a server running major software (e.g. Exchange, SQL Server etc.) is not a good idea, so if your server has been around for a while, don't rename it. Instead contact winsmaster who can check whether there is already a server with this name in the database, and who can, if necessary, put in a static entry for your server to stop any other computer using the name (see Protecting or Registering Server Names using Static Mappings below.)
• Go to the Network and Dial-up Connections control panel, select Local Area Connection and select [File/Properties].
• Select [Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)] and go to Properties.
• Click on Advanced, then on the WINS tab.
• Add the WINS addresses 163.1.2.52 and 129.67.1.52 if you are a department, or 129.67.1.52 and 163.1.2.52 if you are a college. You can disable [LMHOSTS lookup] unless you know that you need to use it.
• Close the control panel. You won't be prompted to reboot, but you may need to anyway.

2.6. Configuring a Windows XP Professional or Home Edition PC to use WINS

• Make sure that the PC is named in accordance with the naming standards (see the Before you Begin — Naming the Computer section above). If it is not, first pick a name that conforms to the standards, then go to the System control panel and click on the Computer Name tab, then on Change and enter a unique computer name. Close the control panel and either reboot now or at the end.
• Go to the Network Connections control panel, select Local Area Connection and select [File/Properties].
• Select [Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)] and go to Properties.
• Click on Advanced, then on the WINS tab.
• Add the WINS addresses 163.1.2.52 and 129.67.1.52 if you are a department, or 129.67.1.52 and 163.1.2.52 if you are a college. You can disable [LMHOSTS lookup] unless you know that you need to use it.
• Close the control panel. You won't be prompted to reboot, but you may need to anyway.

2.7. Configuring a Samba Server to use WINS

Samba can be configured to register a NetBIOS name with a WINS server using settings in the smb.conf file. The steps involved are as follows.

• If your Samba server is not named in accordance with the Naming Standards (see the Before you Begin — Naming the Computer section above), select an appropriate name. Note that this name is not the same as the DNS name of the server, and later versions of Samba allow you to configure the Samba server with NetBIOS aliases, so renaming should not cause any problems. By default the NetBIOS name is the same as the first component of the server's DNS name (i.e. up to the first "." character.)
• Configure your Samba server with the NetBIOS name chosen according to the naming standards using the netbios name = setting in smb.conf.
• In the smb.conf file, set the wins server = parameter to the IP address of the wins server being used, either 163.1.2.52 (for departments) or 129.67.1.52 (for colleges). Note that a Samba server is only configured with one WINS server address, not both, but the two WINS servers replicate their databases to each other, so in general this is not a problem.
• If desired, set the workgroup that you wish your server to appear in, again in smb.conf, using the workgroup = parameter. The default is WORKGROUP.
• If you need to configure NetBIOS aliases, e.g. to ensure that the previous name still works, use the netbios aliases = parameter.
• The name resolve order = parameter controls the order in which lmhosts, DNS, WINS and broadcasts are used for name resolution.
• When configuration is complete, restart the smb daemon.