Windows Internet Name Service (WINS)

Windows Internet Name Service (WINS)

WINS provides a distributed database that registers and queries the ing between IP addresses and NetBIOS names in the routing network environment. This may be a suitable method for converting NetBIOS names and IP addresses, especially for complex networks such as the Internet.

The LMHOSTS file has some disadvantages in the broadcast system. It is broadcast-based, so the network traffic is a heavy burden, and this problem has not been solved. Someone designed a unicast action through the routing protocol to register and resolve NetBIOS names. If this protocol is used, the problem of broadcasting can be solved, and there is no need to use the LMHOSTS file, so that the flexibility and convenience of dynamic configuration can be re-reflected, this allows the system to be seamlessly connected to the DHCP protocol. As we can imagine, when DHCP assigns an address to a computer, this update can be directly reflected in the WINS database. Users and administrators do not need to perform any additional work, which is very convenient. The WINS protocol can work with NBNS, but it cannot work with other NetBIOS name servers because the WINS Database Backup problem is not solved, data cannot be copied between the WINS server and the non-WINS server.

WINS is based on the customer server model. It has two important parts: WINS server and WINS customer. First, let's take a look at the server, which is mainly responsible for processing the registration and unregistration information sent by the customer's name and IP address. If the WINS customer queries, the server returns the IP address under the current query name. The server is also responsible for backing up the database. However, when a customer joins or leaves the network, he or she registers his or her own name with the WIN server or unregisters. Of course, it also queries the server during communication to determine the address of the remote computer.

What are the benefits of using WINS? WINS maps IP addresses and computer names in a centralized manner, which simplifies network management and reduces network traffic. However, this centralized management mode can be compared with a star structure, we have reason to suspect that it can become a network bottleneck. When the local domain controller is not in another segment of the vro management network segment, the customer can still visit the remote domain. During centralized processing, the data will be concentrated on this server, be sure not to make this node fail.

Another important feature of WINS is that it can be integrated with DNS. This allows non-WINS customers to obtain the NetBIOS name through DNS resolution. This provides convenience for network management, and also provides another means for connection between different network types. As we can see, centralized management can greatly simplify management, but lead to a central node in the network topology. This is a hidden bottleneck. If Distributed Management is adopted, but there is a consistency problem, that is, if one server knows this change, and the other does not, the data will be inconsistent, at this time, we need to have some complex algorithms to solve this problem. If the two servers want to know the situation of the other side, it is impossible to not communicate, which will inevitably increase the network burden. In this way, the concentration increases the processing pressure on a single machine, and the distribution increases the amount of network transmission, which is not perfect in the world.