Please Help - WINS server problems

[LOVETT, David]

Hello,

We are successfully using Samba with a remote WINS server which is located
on another site. We have a second site (Worcester) which has successfully
been using the same WINS server and communicating with our Samba servers
(Shipley5 and Shipley6).

Recently the PCs in Worcester have been unable to connect to our Samba
server in Shipley. The other site uses a different DHCP server to our site
but it still gives out the same addresses for the WINS servers. We can ping
the Samba (using IP Address but not name) servers OK. We have even been able
to mount shares on other PCs at Shipley from the PCs at Worcester. For some
reason (possibly WINS server) we can no longer ping using netBIOs name or
attach to our Samba servers at all from the remote site. However everything
is working fine at the local site.

I have tried the nmblookup command. I first tried at our remote site
(Worcester) and then the local site (Shipley). Our servers Shipley5 and
Shipley6 do not seemed to be registered with the WINS servers however other
PCs and NT Servers at our site are.

Basically I have a few questions which could help to resolve the situation.

Is it possible to block servers from a registering on a WINS server?

How often does Samba try to refresh with the WINS server?

If we were to set up our own WINS server would it cause havoc on the WAN?

TIA 

Dave

--
Dave Lovett
Systems Department
CarnaudMetalbox Engineering



CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE 
The information contained in this e-mail is intended only for the
confidential use of the above named recipient. If you are not the intended
recipient or person responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient,
you have received this communication in error and must not distribute or
copy it.  Please accept the sender's apologies, notify the sender
immediately by return e-mail and delete this communication.  Thank you.