[Samba] can't locate samba server in windows network/ can't add domain

[Gaiseric Vandal]

On 02/05/10 09:36, Thijs Hakkenberg wrote:
> On 4-2-2010 19:19, Gaiseric Vandal wrote:
>> On 02/04/10 12:07, Thijs Hakkenberg wrote:
>>> List,
>>>
>>> I've installed an samba server as PDC next to another samba server. 
>>> The DHCP/DNS is handled by a router (vigor 2110).
>>> For the first domain (DOMAIN1) I can join computers or leave the 
>>> domain. However- I can't join the other domain- because no DNS entry 
>>> exists.
>>> The strange thing is they both broadcast their NETBIOS name (It's 
>>> present in the ARP table of the router) but on a windows host I can 
>>> see the first server but not the second one.
>>>
>>> How can I get the seccond server to also broadcast it's netbios name 
>>> to the windows hosts? Or can I bypass the whole thing by modifying 
>>> the HOSTS file on the win XP hosts?
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>
>>> Thijs
>>
>> Presumably you do have DNS entries in the DNS server for both machines.
>>
>> Are you using WINS?  Are both PDC's WINS servers?  You should only 
>> have one WINS server on the network.    And make sure only one is 
>> configured as the "preferred master" in smb.conf.    I find using 
>> WINS makes a lot of network browsing issues go away.
>>
>>
>> Can you use "net use \\thenewserver" command to find the machine?
>>
> Well, the problem is that I can't edit the DNS server because the 
> router takes care of the DNS.
>
> The problem is that they both are a PDC, because I am migrating to a 
> new domain.
>
> And I think they are both the WINS server- but I can't setup the WINS 
> allocation in the DHCP server. But maybe I can try setting the WINS 
> server manually on the XP host?
>>
>>
>>


I don't think it really is a DNS issue since Windows clients in an 
NT4-type/Samba domain don't use DNS to locate a domain controller.    
But I can't think of any good reason that you should not have your DNS 
server configured with records for your key servers.    The DNS 
functionality on smaller routers is usually geared to proxying (actually 
NAT) DNS requests to the ISP's DNS servers.  It may not be appropriate 
for maintaining internal DNS records.   If you were to update local 
files on the XP machines it is probably the lmhosts file not the hosts 
file you want to update (I would only do this as last resort-  it 
defeats the purpose of DNS/WINS/DHCP and you are likely to loose track 
of changes.)



How big is the network.  It is is pretty small you should have been able 
to get by without configuring WINS servers at all.    You can manually 
set the WINS server parameter on the client.  Just make sure that this 
machine and the new PDC are both using the 1st PDC as the wins server.

  Also, when you try to join a machine to DOMAIN2, did you try changing 
the machine to workgroup DOMAIN2, rebooting, verify that that you can 
find the new server in  network neighborhood, and then try joining the 
domain?

If "net use \\thenewserver_name" command doesn't work does  "net use 
\\thenewserver_ip_address" work?  The net command will probably try to 
look up host name via DNS 1st.     If I have a work laptop at home it 
will be in a different workgroup than my home PC and this is sometimes 
the only way to make the machines see each other quickly.