WINS Server setup

Support
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#1

NethServer Version: 7.3.1611
Module: samba

Just looking for a little clarification relating to AD in a Windows environment:

I assume the WINS server address is the IP of the bridged Samba installation - not the IP of the main nethserver DNS?

If that assumption is correct, should I add that to the Advanced settings of the DHCP or is it best left blank for the DNS to manage?

In my first setup of Nethserver, I have had mixed results on a mixed Windows (7/8/10) network in relation to shares and joining the domain, but nothing I haven’t been able to work through/around. The above question is really about ‘tidying’ up.

Thanks to the Devs of this release. I am a long time E-Smith/SME/ClearOS/Zentyal user and I REALLY like the direction Nethserver is headed. Clean, neat and well thought out. Well done!

Klaus

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#2

Samba does support WINS to a certain extend and for NS7 it would mean that WINS, if set as active, it would be on the NSDC container.

However, you realize it is an (almost) deprecated protocol that for most OS-es and applications has been replaced by DNS. Before you try to get WINS to use, ask yourself if you absolutely need it. WINS is quite vulnerable and might introduce some unwanted traffic from legit identification UDP broadcasts to broadcast storms that potentially make your network unusable.

It’s been like 15+ years I had to actively support WINS on an NT4 network. If you want to read some detailed info about WINS, please start at the red hat support site: https://access.redhat.com/documentation/en-US/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux/5/html/Deployment_Guide/s2-samba-wins.html

Cannot synchronize with DC NTP
#3

Thanks Rob. Appreciate the advice and link. I’m not a big fan of WINS either yet thought initially it was part of my issue on the network - not nethserver, windows.

Some machines were browsing names as expected and others weren’t. Some were connecting to shares with ease, others would crash after authentication. Everything was working fine with IPs so I thought it was a DNS issue but couldn’t find any errors and thus started chasing NBT ghosts.

Short story longer: I built a dev environment in VMWare workstation, everything worked as expected. I shunted that into ESXI for a real network and it started to fail. RTFM! Promiscuous mode was off :frowning:

Cheers.

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