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Blocking replication partners

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 8 Beta

Blocking replication partners

After a WINS server is removed from a network, records it owns often continue to be distributed to other servers in a replicated WINS environment. In some cases, WINS either does not delete entries owned by servers no longer active on the network or, by default, preserves stale mappings for an extended period of time. The reasons for this can include:

  • Static mappings originally made at the inactive WINS server replicate indefinitely among the other active WINS servers in the network, unless manually deleted or tombstoned.

    By default, WINS servers preserve static name-to-address mappings whenever such mappings are challenged. This can occur when a WINS client attempts to register or update a static mapping with a dynamic-type mapping of the same name. This behavior, however, can be modified. For more information, see Using static mappings.

  • Dynamic mappings originally registered at the inactive WINS server are not immediately removed from the WINS database.

    In the case of dynamic entries, WINS must check with an owner server before entries are deleted. If a WINS server is no longer in use, other WINS servers conservatively retain records they cannot verify as expired on an owner server. For example, even if an owner is deleted in the WINS console for a particular server, these unwanted or stale names can continue to be replicated throughout the WINS network from other servers storing replica entries of these names.

    WINS processes removal of dynamic-type records according to the Intervals tab settings for WINS Server Properties, which can be configured at each server. In most default cases, a typical extinction period of 36 days passes before a record is fully removed from the database through the scavenging process.

For the Windows Server 2003 family, the Block records for these owners feature (formerly known as PersonaNonGrata) provides a way to block further replication of entries owned by inactive servers. It allows you to specify the IP addresses of inactive WINS servers that own records you want to assure are removed from WINS in a timely manner.

Because it can prevent any further replication of unwanted or stale mappings between active WINS servers remaining on the network, this feature is most useful when you need to remove WINS servers from your network.

Example: Blocking records owned by a WINS server

The following graphic shows a typical WINS replication design based on the recommended hub-and-spoke WINS replication design model.

Configuration for blocking WINS replication

In the example replicated WINS network, WINS-D, is an inactive spoke server in the process of being removed from the network. Because WINS-A is the hub in this design, it must be configured to block records for WINS-D in order to prevent replica entries for WINS-D that are present at other spokes from replicating back to WINS-A and reappearing throughout the network.

When WINS-D server is given blocked partner status, it can be deleted as an owner in the WINS console at WINS-A and its entries will not be replicated back from other spoke servers, such as WINS-B, WINS-C or WINS-E. For more information, see Delete an owner from the WINS database.

Notes

  • You can also choose to accept name records only from specific WINS servers during pull replication. For more information, see Accepting replication partners.

  • If you are not using a hub-and-spoke WINS replication model, it might be necessary to enforce blocking at other servers in your network. If this is the case, you might need to list the blocked partner by blocking records owned by servers or for WINS running on earlier versions, add and configure the PersonaNonGrata registry parameter at each server. These steps can help achieve the intended results of full replication for records owned by the partner to other WINS servers in the network.

  • After adding IP addresses to the list of blocked partners at a WINS server, it is recommended to stop and restart WINS to ensure that the change is in effect the next time replication at that WINS server occurs. For more information, see Start or stop a WINS server.