[Samba] SuperSlow Browsing

[Dominik Wagenknecht]

This thread is getting more and more complicated!!!

Please, HELP ME (if you can), I really read every FAQ and searched the 
archives....

Am Montag, 09.12.02 um 15:19 Uhr schrieb John H Terpstra:

> On Mon, 9 Dec 2002, Franz Sirl wrote:
>
>> At 00:56 08.12.2002, John H Terpstra wrote:
>>> On Sat, 7 Dec 2002, Dominik Wagenknecht wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi!
>>>>
>>>> I've set up a Samba-Server with WINS which should enhance networking
>>>> around here. The situation is fairly simple:
>>>>
>>>> - Around 90 Student-PC's
>>>> - Everything is in the net 10.1.2.0 / 255.255.255.0
>>>>
>>>> Till now everything worked more or less well without WINS (so the
>>>> DHCP-Server just assigned IP/Gateway/DNS).
>>>> Now I installed a samba machine and activated WINS-Server. The IP of
>>>> the WINS Server is assigned through the DHCP:
>>>>
>>>> option netbios-name-servers 10.1.2.15;
>>>> option netbios-node-type 2;
>>>
>>> No way! You want netbios-node-type 8
>>>
>>> By saying type 2, you are telling your MS Windows clients to ignore 
>>> WINS!
>>> You told them to use Broadcast based name resolution.
>>
>> Well, unless all the docs are wrong, you are wrong here, or? 2==P-Node
>> which means WINS only, whereas 8==H-Node meaning WINS first then 
>> broadcast.
>> And the ISC DHCPD FAQ explicitly recommends using P-Node, which seems
>> logical to me as one doesn't want unnecessary broadcasts if there is 
>> a WINS
>> server around.
>
> You are correct. I was wrong about node-type. P-Type should work fine,
> H-Type does provide the broadcase name resolution fall-back. I should 
> have
> checked type 2 more carefully. Sorry for mis-information.
>
> Key things to look at next are:
>
> 1. Do samba interfaces have the same netmask as all Windows clients?

Yes, the entire network has the same class C netmask and network 
(255.255.255.0, 10.1.2.0)

> 2. Are MS Windows client IP address and names being registered in the
> samba WINS database (wins.dat)?

wins.dat is perfectly filled up with all services from all pc's. This 
really works great.....

> 3. Check that each machine on the network is being recorded in the
> browse.dat file?

Here starts trouble..... browse.dat only contains the local 
master-browsers of the workgroups and all clients in the server's 
workgroup. Now the point is: I can't put all machines in the same 
workgroup as everyone sets his workgroup like he wants..... (of course, 
I could change some DHCP entries, but I have no knowledge of any 
parameter setting windows-workgroup)

But as described, EVERY workgroup is browsed really LAME on Windows, 
including servers workgroup. I don't see why, because Samba server is 
really BORED (about 0.5% cpu) and shouldn't have any trouble providing 
the necessary information.

Second point is that viewing the workgroup list (so directly unter 
"Microsoft Windows Networking") is also very slow, although browse.dat 
contains all the information needed and it is definitely SENT to 
Windows. (according to log.nmbd - i'm already reading at level 3)

Windows should not be the problem as it is using only TCP/IP (so no 
clash with NetBeui/NetBios). DNS can't resolve Windows-PC-names (I'm 
actually working on DDNS synchronisation with DHCP) but correctly 
respondes with "host not found" within msec's. (so should be quite fast)

Please, Help!!!!!!

> - John T.
> -- 
> John H Terpstra
> Email: jht at samba.org
>

BTW: It's a standard SuSE installation with official RPM for Samba 
2.2.7, without any complicated password configuration. (one public 
share (ro, only guest), should just be WINS)

Kind Regards
--Dominik Wagenknecht