nmbd & netbios name -> many addreses

[Christopher R. Hertel]

Cool.

> Having just tried to move our Samba based WINS server from an elderly 
> 1.9.16p10 to a somewhat less elderly 1.9.18p10 server - I encountered an 
> unusual problem.
>
> The other main change I made was to make all the Samba servers aware of the 
> new WINS server which is also the domain master.  A lot of our servers are 
> multihomed and thus have names such as magda-8 meaning host magda on subnet 8.

That is, that your Samba 1.9.18p10 server is acting as a WINS (NBNS)
server and as the Domain Master Browser, right?  That rev of Samba 
doesn't have the Domain Control functionality active, so I assume you're 
using it as a DMB.

> Where 134.83.108.1 is the old WINS server and 134.83.108.11 the new (and both 
> have "dns proxy = yes") using nmblookup I get the following:
> 
> moomin.brunel.ac.uk% nmblookup  -U 134.83.108.1 -R magda-8
> Sending queries to 134.83.108.1
> 134.83.8.1 magda-8<00>

> moomin.brunel.ac.uk% nmblookup -U 134.83.108.11 -R magda-8
> Sending queries to 134.83.108.11
> 134.83.8.1 magda-8<00>
> 134.83.96.11 magda-8<00>
> 134.83.192.2 magda-8<00>
> 134.83.136.3 magda-8<00>
> 134.83.48.1 magda-8<00>
> 
> .. so with the new WINS server a single Netbios name resolves to multiple IP 
> addresses.  (Magda of course has an interfaces = statement).

I don't recall any changes between 1.9.18 and 2.0 that would have fixed
this, but I often miss these things.  The big change in nmbd (from my
perspective) was that the namelists were converted from linked lists to
splay trees, for speed.  Before 1.9.18 I didn't have my hands in, so I
don't know what might have happened in between. 

> The Windows NT workstation (4.0 sp3) using the new WINS server is unhappy
> when given a "net use \\magda-8\SHARE" command - returns:
> 
> System error 53 has occured.
>
> The network path was not found.

Which means that it cannot resolve the name to a (single) IP address.

> Is nmbd at fault here (or are Microsoft wrong)?
> 
> Should I just upgrade to 2.0.3 (something I plan to do in due course)?

Working with 2.0.3 means we'll all be on the same page.  I don't think
that there were many functional changes to nmbd between 1.9.18 and 2.0
(again, could have missed something), though Jeremy did do a lot of work
between 1.9.17 and 1.9.18.  I share your question: which is the "correct" 
behavior?

Chris -)-----

-- 
Christopher R. Hertel -)-----                   University of Minnesota
crh at nts.umn.edu              Networking and Telecommunications Services