Can Billion routers act as WINS servers?

[gatekeeper]

Would I be correct in assuming that, where a WINS server is required to be defined in a private network (LAN), a Billion router (eg. the 8800NL) can act as a WINS server?

This is in the context of employing fixed IP addresses on the network and where a shared resource such as a network-connected printer is used. In other words, if a device such as a printer requires a WINS server IP address to be configured into it, can the router's IP address be used for that? If so, does the router need to be configured for this in any way?

Note that, in this instance, the printer would only ever be accessed by other devices on the LAN, and therefore never remotely over the Internet.

I hasten to add that this enquiry is nothing to do with the use of the USB port on the router.

[BadMelonFarmer]

I would not worry about it, just ignore it and 99.99% you would be fine

I doubt that Billions Routers can act as WINS servers, but in all honesty WINS is a VERY outdated technology and not really used in modern operating systems, DNS is used for what WINS was previously used for.

It is a legacy Microsoft naming service (Windows Internet Naming Service) and was really only used for Enterprise setups back in the 90's and into the early 2000's.

IF you really need it for some horrible legacy application I guess a workaround would be to investigate LMHOSTS files not he clients where you can define the IP Address of the server, but that would be my last resort as they are the work of the devil and a nightmare to maintain

[gatekeeper]

DNS is used for what WINS was previously used for.

Whilst I think that that's true up to a point, you'd not normally use specifically a domain name server that's out there on the Internet for this particular purpose in preference to a more-local (and in this case, LAN-based) name server.

According to my understanding, whilst WINS and DNS are both name resolution servers for operation over TCP/IP networks, WINS is meant for resolving NetBIOS names whereas DNS is for resolving Internet-based domain names.

Contrary to what you and I would believe - given the legacy nature of WINS - many networkable devices these days still occasionally ask for a WINS server address to be set. For example, a brand new printer I've just installed asks for it. I've set the router's IP address as the WINS server, simply on the basis that I felt that the router should always know which devices are attached to it, but I only guessed at that; for all I know, a WINS server might not have sufficient 'intelligence' to associate a printer name or a computer name with particular LAN IP addresses.

You may well be correct, though, when you say that not allocating a WINS address at all won't make much difference, if any.

As far as network servers go generally, the router (in this case the 8800NL) has at least one embedded server - a DHCP server - and I believe the router can also be used as a more-local DNS server if configured appropriately.

[BadMelonFarmer]

I do enterprise IT for a living and have done for over 20 years.

I have designed and deployed many Windows NT Domains and Active Directories, I have done enterprise DNS deployments and Carrier Grade DNS deployment for 28 millions of end users, although that was a few years back

NetBIOS is legacy, old School... only see it these days for crappy old applications.

You use DNS on an external network, but you still use DNS on an internal network, they should be separate systems as you would not want internal names resolvable in the internet, but generally you do want the other way around... unless you want to route via a different way e.g. Via an admin lan or use something like proxy chaining.

I would put a decent bottle of wine that you could put any IP address in that Printer setup and it would still work, as long as you are talking about a small network and all devices are on the same subnet... if you are talking about a larger setup there will probably be Active Directory involved and Active Direcory needs DNS to work properly, windows integrated and published printers will be published into Active directory and resolvable via DNS

A lot of these options that exist in operating systems have been there for years, windows 10 code is related to Windows NT that dates back to the early 90's.

Also some enterprises still have legacy applications that may need it. Off the top of my head SMS 2003 still required WINS after all the MS enterprise applications had moved to DNS.

You could probably leave it blank and it will still work.

I would be VERY surprised if the billion device acts as a WINS server, very surprised.

[gatekeeper]

Re your closing sentence, it'd be useful to know, though, wouldn't it?

As configured at present, my new printer has the router's IP address as the WINS address (because otherwise in the printer it defaults to 0.0.0.0 and because I couldn't specify any other local server, ie. on the LAN, that could perform WINS), and certainly the printer is quite happily accepting that.

[billion_fan]

Re your closing sentence, it'd be useful to know, though, wouldn't it?

As configured at present, my new printer has the router's IP address as the WINS address (because otherwise in the printer it defaults to 0.0.0.0 and because I couldn't specify any other local server, ie. on the LAN, that could perform WINS), and certainly the printer is quite happily accepting that.

The Bipac 8800NL does not work as a WINS server

[gatekeeper]

Thanks for letting me know, billion_fan.

Given that my printer's WINS Address default setting is 0.0.0.0, with no 'Disable/Enable WINS' setting provided, how should I leave it? Is 0.0.0.0 any sort of valid address on the Web, or even within a LAN? Given that you and the other respondent have confirmed that WINS isn't used any more these days - or at least that the 8800NL cannot act as a WINS server - I'm just wanting to leave the default WINS setting in the printer at a value where I can be assured it can't create any sort of security issue.

(I've a very vague recollection that, some years ago, use of NetBIOS - which I believe required a WINS server - was abandoned on Windows machines in workgroups due to an intractable security issue that was found which could allow unauthorised access to the LAN from the Web).

[BadMelonFarmer]

Leave it at 0.0.0.0 it will not make any difference

[evansnp]

From memory, any windows PC can be elected as the 'master browser', which is effectively the WINS server for that broadcast domain. If you look under 'services', you should see a service called 'browser. That's what WINS uses to resolve computer names.

[gatekeeper]

BadMelon et all,

Any idea what mDNS is?

Two further settings of the printer are DDNS and mDNS. I presume that DDNS is Dynamic DNS, but what the heck is mDNS? Any idea?