Windows NT® Server 1
White Paper By R. Dan Thompson IV and Randy McLaughlin 1
Introduction 1
MS Browsing Overview 1
Microsoft Network Browser System 1
How Servers Manage Browsing for Microsoft Networking 2
How Servers Announce Themselves in Microsoft Networks 6
NetBIOS Special Names 7
Samples of NetBIOS Special Names 8
How Clients Receive Browser Information 10
Microsoft TCP/IP and Name Resolution 11
NetBIOS over TCP/IP 11
WAN Browsing with WINS on an IP Network 14
Troubleshooting Browsing 15
For More Information 19
Appendix A: Browsing in a Switched Environment 19
Appendix B: The Multihomed Windows NT Browser 20
Appendix C: Windows NT Printer Browsing 21
Appendix D: Windows NT Browser Components 23
Appendix E: Windows NT Browser Registry Options 24
Appendix F: windows NT Browser Error Codes 27
Appendix G: Network Layers Involved in Browsing 32
MAC Layer 32
Network Layer 32
NetBIOS Layer 32
SMB Layer 33
Appendix H: Windows NT Browser Protocol Frames 34
Server Type Field 35
Host Announcement Frame 35
Local Master Announcement Frame 37
Domain / Work Group Announcement Frame 38
Announcement Request Frame 39
Election Frame 39
Become Backup Frame 40
Get Backup List Request Frame 40
Get Backup List Response Frame 41
Master Announcement Frame 41
Reset Browser State Frame 41
The browse list can be accurately maintained in any environment if the browser architecture, capabilities, and the way in which the network topology affects the browser’s ability to gather information on the network are taken into consideration.
Understanding the operation of the browser services available on Microsoft operating systems is critical in effective troubleshooting. For example, the browser service relies on broadcasts when gathering information locally and needs the services of WINS or other name-resolution methods to pass a browse list to remote networks. The details of this process and the methods used are presented in this paper.
This paper should dispel some common misunderstandings about the browse list. The presence or lack of a computer name in the browse list does not give a clear indication of the computer’s status on the network. A delay in gathering a browse list may occur due to various circumstances; however, a system can typically be contacted directly even though it cannot be found in Network Neighborhood. A system missing from the browse list should not be a cause for immediate concern, unless the system is consistently missing.
Although the primary focus of this paper is to give network administrators an understanding of browser architecture, it also deals with troubleshooting situations where the browse list is inaccurate or unavailable.