Windows Server and Networking Services - Term Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages According to Henry King in his book Information Today: A new Interface of the Changing World and Other Related Components, published on April 2006, Windows Server 2003 is "the name of Microsoft's line of server operating systems. It was introduced in April 2003 as the successor to Windows 2000 Server, and is considered by Microsoft to be the cornerstone of their Windows Server System line of business server products." (King, 115) And for Windows 2000 Server the WINS is the best possible service as he states "Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) introduces new features and enhancements to the WINS Service, WINS Client, and WINS Manager. WINS provides a distributed database for registering and querying dynamic computer name-to-IP address mapping in a routed network environment." (King, 148)

Windows Internet Naming Service or WINS is implemented by Microsoft for NetBIOS Name Server (NBNS) on Windows. It basically acts as a name server and service for NetBIOS computer names. In other words, it serves the same purpose for NetBIOS what DNS acts for the domain names. In a general form, there are multiple WINS working simultaneously within a system. These WINS servers are activated in a push-pull formulation. This is put forward as a better alternative for the working structure of the hub and spoke formulation. In other words, the design of the WINS server is practically present in a decentralized formation where there are no traces of any focal spot.
The record of the WINS service system is stored within each individual WINS server thereby making it extremely safe to handle which otherwise would have been very docile and misbalanced like many other services providing systems. In fact, each part holds the exact full copy so that no record is ever lost at any point. As a result of this formation, which is unique in all the senses, the WINS service system contains no hierarchy formation. This way it is much different from the DNS. "But like DNS its database can be queried for the address to contact rather than broadcasting a request for which address to contact. The system, therefore, reduces broadcast traffic on the network, however, replication traffic can add to WAN / LAN traffic." (King, 156)
The WINS service contains a number of very interesting features like:
Dynamic re-registration
Increased fault tolerance
Record verification and version number validation
Persistent connections
Dynamic record deletion and multi-select
Enhanced filtering and record searching
Manual tombstoning
Improved management tools
Export function
Examples
Each of the above-mentioned features is unique and makes the WINS server real worthy.
For example:
In WINS the persistent connections is a completely configurable feature that allows unrelenting connection with every WINS server. This way the maintenance of a productive and efficient system is formed. Furthermore, this enables the system to exterminate any and every sort of undesired replication that way the needed desired replication could be speeded up.
Another very interesting feature of the WINS service is Manual tombstoning. Manual tombstoning is used to "marks a record for deletion so that the tombstone state for the record is replicated across all of WINS, preventing an undeleted copy of the record on a different server database from being re-propagated.” ...Download file to see next pagesRead More