Share via

1 Introduction

  • Article

Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) is the Microsoft implementation of NetBIOS Name Server (NBNS), a name server for NetBIOS names.

NBNS supports resolution of NetBIOS names to IPv4 addresses. The NBNS database is distributed. Networks normally have more than one NBNS server to help improve availability and scalability of NetBIOS name service. The mappings registered by the clients on one server are replicated across all NBNS servers for consistent NetBIOS name resolution. This document specifies the replication protocol while the [RFC1001] and [RFC1002] specify the NetBT protocol.

Sections 1.5, 1.8, 1.9, 2, and 3 of this specification are normative. All other sections and examples in this specification are informative.