Lesson 4

Implementing a NetBIOS Name Resolution Strategy

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Figure 4-9

The WINS tab in the Advanced TCP/IP Settings dialog box

After you have completed this procedure, the computer will use the broadcast method

to resolve NetBIOS names, and if this method fails, it will try to look up the name in the

Lmhosts file. If the computer does not find the name in the Lmhosts file, name resolu-

tion fails.

Creating an Lmhosts File

Creating an Lmhosts file is largely a matter of typing the NetBIOS names and IP

addresses of the computers on your network that clients must be able to access. There

are some additional options that increase the efficiency of the file. In most cases, the

use of Lmhosts files is practical only when clients require access to a few key servers

on other networks. Creating and maintaining an Lmhosts file that contains entries for

all the computers on the network can be an administrative nightmare that is easily

avoided by installing WINS servers.

Lmhosts is a text file that you can create using Windows Notepad or any text editor

and save to the %Systemroot%\System32\Drivers\Etc folder of a computer running

Windows. The basic entries of the Lmhosts file consist of an IP address followed by at

least one space, and then the NetBIOS name associated with that address. Following

the NetBIOS name and separated by at least one more space, you can insert a pound

(#) symbol and type a comment. The system ignores everything on that line after the

pound symbol when processing the file. Each entry must appear on a separate line, as

shown in the following example:

192.168.5.65

Hrserver

#Human Resources server

192.168.9.34

Fserve1

#File server 1

192.168.2.110

Smtp

#Internet e-mail server