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A win WINS situation, part 1

Here's some information that can help you determine if WINS is appropriate for your network.

• Do implement WINS in small TCP/IP environments. Using WINS reduces NetBIOS name administration, and WINS performs better than DNS.
• Do implement WINS in mixed environments. WINS proxy agents can reduce broadcast traffic for clients that aren't configured for a WINS server.
• Do implement WINS in geographically distributed environments. Deploying WINS servers in each remote location can minimize broadcast traffic on the WAN. Carefully monitor replication traffic.
• Do not excessively implement WINS in very large environments. The replication demands between each WINS replication partner can create a significant amount of network chatter. More than one WINS server per 200 clients could be overkill. Reduce the number of WINS servers wherever possible.
• Do not implement WINS in security-tight environments if you want to prevent users from accessing corporate network resources. In contrast, you can use LMHOSTS files with the required server names for NetBIOS resolution.