WINS Training Labs

A review of Train Signal’s Windows 2000/2003 WINS Video Lab Training – Product Details. See more details at Train Signal’s website.

I had always used WINS because it was easy to install and configure. It was a no brainer. Static Mappings was the extent of my configuration attempts with WINS. Didn’t think there was really much to it until I ran through Train Signal’s training video.

As with all of the Train Signal videos I have viewed they start at the very beginning and show you how to install and most importantly where to find it as it is hidden away in Windows 2003 Server.

Lab 6 provides a complete coverage of the options in WINS from Scavenging and Tombstoning, Database Consistency, Replication, Database Backup and where to Start, Stop and Restart WINS.  Push/Pull Replication is gone into in some depth and Replication Partners is given the usual methodical Train Signal workout and you come away a confidence from the knowledge gained.

Settings are given a run through with a thorough explanation of the default settings and what each one does.  I had never bothered to lookup what the various Active Registrations record types meant but thanks to Train Signal I now know what 00h, 03h and 20h records are and what they are used for.

The NBTSTAT command, which is run from the Console (Command Prompt), is given a good workout and I took the opportunity to get some much needed practice with this useful tool.  Load Balancing for WINS is mentioned as to is the importance of your WINS server not being multi-homed.  Also important was in a multi WINS server network that each WINS server should only point to itself to avoid database corruption.

WINS proxy was discussed, how it worked and why it was used and what its limitations are and how to enable it on a computer. This is tricky if you don’t know how but it is a straight forward Registry edit.

The final video in this Lab went into the LMHOSTS file, how it works, how entries are made and its limitations due to the entries being static and not dynamic. Train Signal constantly surprises me with the little tidbits of information that are injected into their videos that add to your general IT knowledge. This video was a small lesson on system variables.

WINS Client Node types are discussed along with what the node types are, how they work and in what circumstances or situations they are used. Adding them to the Scope Options in DHCP is the easiest way of deploying the Client Node Types on each computer in your network and this demonstration and discussion id not overlooked by Train Signal

Disabling NetBIOS can have its advantages but as the video goes into, you have to be 100% certain that you don’t have any applications that still use it. Scott mentioned a couple of situations where NetBIOS is still required and I was surprised as to what they were, but considering the software vendor I shouldn’t have been. Without this video I don’t think I would ever have figured out how to disable NetBIOS using the DHCP Scope Options.  Even after finding the setting, Microsoft added a final twist.

The different types of WINS replications finished off this video and the Lab. Mesh replication is compared to Hub and Spoke Replication and what the advantage of a Hub and Spoke has over a Mesh.

Another excellent Computer Based Training Lab by Train Signal. You can read more details about this product here:

Windows 2000/2003 WINS Video Lab Training – Product Detailslink out ico

For more information and review copies

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