registering with WINS server

[Richard Sharpe]

At 08:38 AM 11/28/00 +1030, Matthew Geddes wrote:
>"Robert M. Martel" wrote:
>> 
>>         What must I do to FORCE my Smaba server(s) to register with
>> a WINS server.  I am unable to use my Samba servers as WINS servers, I need
>> to use the university provided WINS server.  So far my Samba machines
>> have been unwilling or unable to register with the WINS server.
>> 
>>         I have the "win server = IP addr of WINS server" in my smb.conf
>> but every time I use nbtstat -a sambaserver on a windows client machine
>> I get back "Host not found".  The books don't say all that much
>> about WINS, other than it should magically work.
>> 
>>         Seems to me that this is why my client machines cannot find their
>> (samba) PDC on a different subnet (as I have posted in the past) which
is why
>> I am posting this question to this list.
>> 
>
>I have the same problems with our NT servers (the nbtstat -a thing). Try
>checking the WINS database using the WINS manager on your WINS server.
>If your Samba server doesn't appear there, try using static WINS
>entries. If this doesn't suit your needs, you can try telling Samba that
>it's the Domain Master, Local Master and Preferred Master, but give it
>an os level of 1. This will at least make the samba server well known on
>the network ;-).

This will only make it show up in the browse lists. 

Because the server is not registered with a WINS server, unless the network
is set up with everyone as H-nodes or M-nodes, when a client goes to browse
the server, things will not work.

Browsing is a two step process. Retrieve the browse list, which is a list
of NetBIOS names, and then translate the name to an IP address (or MAC
address). See, for example, Special Edition, Using Samba :-)

>Hope it helps,
>Matt
>
>

Regards
-------
Richard Sharpe, sharpe at ns.aus.com
Samba (Team member, www.samba.org), Ethereal (Team member, www.zing.org)
Contributing author, SAMS Teach Yourself Samba in 24 Hours
Author, Special Edition, Using Samba