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I heard through the grapevine that WINS was going to be phased out / not supported officially from Microsoft any more [ and yet they have it in Windows server 2008 ]. I can't find any information about this on the web. Does anyone know of this rumor and/or have an official release from Mircosoft (URL?)? ( This question relates to Policy - large corporate networks)

Bart De Vos
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Zero
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  • You should look into using GLOBALNAMES zones to phase out WINS. (If you only need a small number of records) – HostBits Jan 11 '12 at 22:17
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    Define "massive". And it shouldn't matter what IP version you're using. – MDMarra Jan 11 '12 at 22:31
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    Set WINS on fire. Please use DNS, ensuring that your internal domain name is in the DNS search path of your clients and servers (Which is configurable via GPO and most DHCP providers.) – gWaldo Jan 11 '12 at 23:36
  • @gWaldo: Why the hate for WINS, anyway? It's not like it consumes massive amounts of server resources or is hard to configure. I'd agree that you shouldn't use it if you don't need it, but the OP has an application that benefits from WINS, so it seems like it's a "win for him. – Evan Anderson Jan 11 '12 at 23:39
  • @EvanAnderson I guess that would stem other research: a replacement for our ghostcast servers, that maybe could include the ability to image over wireless.. etc., if we went with WINS disabled. Is there any major problem with using WINS ? (seeing as most people who replied to this thread hate it) – Zero Jan 11 '12 at 23:50
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    @EvanAnderson - it's just professional hate; it was designed with assumptions in mind that didn't prove to be valid for very long (Workgroups). The fact that you can have separate 'phonebooks' with conflicting information is awful. I can accept the need for a truly legacy app, but only with the barest of grudgingliness (It's a word now...). But if anyone tried to put in something new that *requires* WINS... – gWaldo Jan 12 '12 at 00:58

2 Answers2

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Microsoft has to support it as it is a freely installable role on their currently supported server platform. They will support it as long as they support OSes that they distribute it with.

That said, for the good of all mankind, please use DNS instead.

MDMarra
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    DNS absolutely handles dynamic IPs. I'm not sure what dynamic IPs have to do with imaging in the way that you're describing, but most imaging tools have load-balancing functionality built-in. – MDMarra Jan 11 '12 at 22:28
  • @MDMarra: It sounds like Foxtrot is using an application that relies on NetBIOS name resolution in order to resolve names. In that case he really does need WINS. – Evan Anderson Jan 11 '12 at 22:32
  • @Foxtrot A quick search on DNS would've clearly shown what DNS supports or doesn't. You seem to rely too much on what you hear, and not what you research. – HostBits Jan 11 '12 at 22:32
  • @EvanAnderson I'm not aware on any remotely modern imaging solutions that require NetBIOS name resolution. Without more details I'd say it's a toss-up between some funky legacy situation like you describe and the OP just having bad info about DNS or his imaging solution. – MDMarra Jan 11 '12 at 22:34
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    @MDMarra: Older versions of Symantec Ghost use NetBIOS to resolve "Ghostcast" session names. I'm using years-old versions of Ghost in a couple of Customer sites with modern Windows versions w/ success. Given the up front CAPEX the Customers put into licensing Ghost I'm inclined to make it work (i.e. give it NetBIOS resolution) versus making them buy something newer (and to allow them to continue to leverage their familiarity with the product and the years of old images they've built up). – Evan Anderson Jan 11 '12 at 22:37
  • @EvanAnderson I wasnt aware that versions of Ghost that old worked with Win 7. I'm looking forward to the OP responding so that we can find out if he can take his WINS server out back and put it out of its misery like it deserves. :) – MDMarra Jan 11 '12 at 22:41
  • @MDMarra: Older versions of GHOST work fine w/ Windows Vista and Windows 7. The NTFS version number and features haven't changed since Windows 2000. You can run into situations where you have to boot a setup DVD and make changes to the Boot Manager configuration after imaging. – Evan Anderson Jan 11 '12 at 22:47
  • Sorry for the delay all. Yes we do have a legacy application that handles our imaging that relies on NetBIOS currently in place: Ghostcast. Bravo @EvanAnderson – Zero Jan 11 '12 at 23:37
  • @MDMarra we are contemplating getting rid WINS and just using DNS (sorry for my misunderstanding Cheekaleak )but this obviously infringes on our ghostcasting. We are able to image machines across many vlans and do NOT want to turn broadcasting on across all vlans as traffic would be insane. (Side note: I am not the network administrator, but rather an intern. I am still getting terminology down) Thanks for all of your input. – Zero Jan 11 '12 at 23:37
  • So what's the hate for wins and netbios names? The only issue I have with it is companies that spend time maintaining it and have nothing that actually uses netbios – Jim B Jan 12 '12 at 00:26
  • @JimB That many times old-school admins run it without a reason to. In many situations, it's no longer relevant and is just one more unneeded service. It seems like the OP may actually need it due to followup comments, but I think you'd be surprised how many people run it for no reason at all. – MDMarra Jan 12 '12 at 00:29
  • @mdMarra, I'm not surprised at all ( I mentioned that issue in my comment) but if it's setup and just humming along without issue, there is no reason to remove it. – Jim B Jan 12 '12 at 00:33
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The WINS server is a shipping part of current Windows Server versions. It's "supported" by Microsoft.

WINS is a necessary evil because there are still applications out there (and bits of Windows, though increasing less with newer releases of Windows) that rely on NetBIOS name resolution. If you are one of the lucky people who have no applications that need NetBIOS name resolution go ahead and disable NetBIOS and run w/o WINS. On the other hand, if you still need NetBIOS then you really should be using WINS to cut down on broadcast traffic and to make NetBIOS name resolution reliable. You should also be setting your clients to "H-node" type name resolution (or, if you want no broadcast resolution at all "P-node") and specifying WINS servers as part of their static or DHCP-provided configuration.

Your comment to @MDMarra leads me to believe that your disk imaging application uses NetBIOS name resolution. In that case you're stuck needing a WINS server. I wouldn't get too hung-up on it. The WINS Server consumes few server resources and the replication can be tuned so that it isn't a bandwidth hog.

Evan Anderson
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