[vpn-help] WINS and NetBIOS

[Matthew Grooms]

On 1/25/2010 12:18 PM, Matt Putnam wrote:
>       I had a posted a problem earlier that I could not access file
> shares through the shrew vpn client. After doing some research and
> setting up a test system I found that it was because we dont have nor
> use a WINS server. Without the WINS server in the cisco config it wont
> access older windows/CIFS file shares. It has not problem on the other
> hand accessing win 7 shares without a WINS server.
>
> My question is should it work like that where you have to have a wins
> server specified even if its a fake server or is this a bug in the
> software that its rejecting NetBIOS traffic if there isn't a WINS server
> specified.

Classic NetBIOS lookups without a WINs server are only valid on the 
local broadcast domain. IPsec works at layer 3 so broadcast traffic will 
not traverse the tunnel.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/119493

WINs is a way to do NetBIOS name lookups in unicast, but you need a 
centralized server for that.

-Matthew