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=======
NetBIOS
=======
NetBIOS runs over the following tranports: TCP/IP; NetBEUI and IPX/SPX.
Samba only uses NetBIOS over TCP/IP. For details on the TCP/IP NetBIOS
Session Service NetBIOS Datagram Service, and NetBIOS Names, see
rfc1001.txt and rfc1002.txt.
NetBIOS applications (such as samba) offer their services (for example,
SMB file and print sharing) on a NetBIOS name. They must claim this name
on the network before doing so. The NetBIOS session service will then
accept connections on the application's behalf (on the NetBIOS name
claimed by the application). A NetBIOS session between the application
and the client can then commence.
NetBIOS names consist of 15 characters plus a 'type' character. This is
similar, in concept, to an IP address and a TCP port number, respectively.
A NetBIOS-aware application on a host will offer different services under
different NetBIOS name types, just as a host will offer different TCP/IP
services on different port numbers.
NetBIOS names must be claimed on a network, and must be defended. The use
of NetBIOS names is most suitable on a single subnet; a Local Area Network
or a Wide Area Network.
NetBIOS names are either UNIQUE or GROUP. Only one application can claim a
UNIQUE NetBIOS name on a network.
There are two kinds of NetBIOS Name resolution: Broadcast and Point-to-Point.
=================
BROADCAST NetBIOS
=================
Clients can claim names, and therefore offer services on successfully claimed
names, on their broadcast-isolated subnet. One way to get NetBIOS services
(such as browsing: see ftp.microsoft.com/drg/developr/CIFS/browdiff.txt; and
SMB file/print sharing: see cifs4.txt) working on a LAN or WAN is to make
your routers forward all broadcast packets from TCP/IP ports 137, 138 and 139.
This, however, is not recommended. If you have a large LAN or WAN, you will
find that some of your hosts spend 95 percent of their time dealing with
broadcast traffic. [If you have IPX/SPX on your LAN or WAN, you will find
that this is already happening: a packet analyzer will show, roughly
every twelve minutes, great swathes of broadcast traffic!].
============
NBNS NetBIOS
============
rfc1001.txt describes, amongst other things, the implementation and use
of, a 'NetBIOS Name Service'. NT/AS offers 'Windows Internet Name Service'
which is fully rfc1001/2 compliant, but has had to take specific action
with certain NetBIOS names in order to make it useful. (for example, it
deals with the registration of <1c> <1d> <1e> names all in different ways.
I recommend the reading of the Microsoft WINS Server Help files for full
details).
Samba also offers WINS server capabilities. Samba does not interact
with NT/AS (WINS replication), so if you have a mixed NT server and
Samba server environment, it is recommended that you use the NT server's
WINS capabilities, instead of samba's WINS server capabilities.
The use of a WINS server cuts down on broadcast network traffic for
NetBIOS name resolution. It has the effect of pulling all the broadcast
isolated subnets together into a single NetBIOS scope, across your LAN
or WAN, while avoiding the use of TCP/IP broadcast packets.
When you have a WINS server on your LAN, WINS clients will be able to
contact the WINS server to resolve NetBIOS names. Note that only those
WINS clients that have registered with the same WINS server will be
visible. The WINS server _can_ have static NetBIOS entries added to its
database (usually for security reasons you might want to consider putting
your domain controllers or other important servers as static entries,
but you should not rely on this as your sole means of security), but for
the most part, NetBIOS names are registered dynamically.
[It is important to mention that samba's browsing capabilities (as a WINS
client) must have access to a WINS server. if you are using samba also
as a WINS server, then it will have a direct short-cut into the WINS
database.
This provides some confusion for lots of people, and is worth mentioning
here: a Browse Server is NOT a WINS Server, even if these services are
implemented in the same application. A Browse Server _needs_ a WINS server
because a Browse Server is a WINS client, which is _not_ the same thing].
Clients can claim names, and therefore offer services on successfully claimed
names, on their broadcast-isolated subnet. One way to get NetBIOS services
(such as browsing: see ftp.microsoft.com/drg/developr/CIFS/browdiff.txt; and
SMB file/print sharing: see cifs4.txt) working on a LAN or WAN is to make
your routers forward all broadcast packets from TCP/IP ports 137, 138 and 139.
WINS Clients therefore claim names from the WINS server. If the WINS
server allows them to register a name, the client's NetBIOS session service
can then offer services on this name. Other WINS clients will then
contact the WINS server to resolve a NetBIOS name.
To configure samba as a WINS server, you must add "wins support = yes" to
the [global] section of your smb.conf file. This will enable WINS server
capabilities in nmbd.
To configure samba as a WINS client, you must add "wins server = x.x.x.x"
to the [global] section of your smb.conf file, where x.x.x.x is the TCP/IP
address of your WINS server. The browsing capabilities in nmbd will then
register (and resolve) WAN-wide NetBIOS names with this WINS server.
Note that if samba has "wins support = yes", then the browsing capabilities
will _not_ use the "wins server" option to resolve NetBIOS names: it will
go directly to the internal WINS database for NetBIOS name resolution. It
is therefore invalid to have both "wins support = yes" and
"wins server = x.x.x.x". Note, in particular, that if you configure the
"wins server" parameter to be the ip address of your samba server itself
(as might one intuitively think), that you will run into difficulties.
Do not use both parameters!
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