Some useful WINS troubleshooting tools
 
Windows server resource kit includes some very useful WINS troubleshooting tools.

1) Winscl.exe: WINS Administration Tool

This command-line administrative tool helps to manage Windows Internet Name Service (WINS).

WinsCl can monitor WINS activities and examine WINS databases. It can also send commands to WINS to initiate an activity such as replication, scavenging; registering and/or querying a record; or backup and/or restore operations. It includes a command that does consistency checking on the WINS database.

Unlike WINS Manager, however, WinsCl cannot configure a WINS.

Notes

Using WinsCl is potentially a high-overhead operation and a network-bandwidth hog, as it results in full replication of the entire database. It is best done when network activity is low.
If you attempt to delete a non-existent or incorrect name (for example, with lowercase letters that should be uppercase), WinsCl returns a status of SUCCESS even though the database was not modified since the parameter was incorrect. This could be misleading, as it might appear that the database has been correctly updated when in fact it was not.

For help in troubleshooting possible causes of database inconsistencies, use WinsChk, a Windows 2000 Resource Kit tool, in conjunction with WinsCl.

WinsCl Topics

WinsCl Options
WinsCl Notes
File Required

Winscl.exe

2) WINS.dll

Wins.dll: WINS Replication Network Monitor Parser

This extension DLL parses Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) data from within Network Monitor, a feature of Microsoft® Windows® 2000.

This tool is useful as a way to view and troubleshoot network issues related to WINS replication.

Wins.dll runs on any version of Windows 2000 or Microsoft® Windows NT® that supports Network Monitor version 1 or 2.

WINS Replication Network Monitor Parser Topic

Installing Wins.dll
File Required

Wins.dll
3) Winschk.exe

Open command prompt now.

This command-line tool checks name and version-number inconsistencies that may appear in Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) databases, monitors replication activity, and verifies the replication topology in an enterprise network. It is particularly useful for WINS administrators.

With WinsChk, you can remotely check and resolve WINS database replication issues. You can isolate some of the most common problems that lead to database inconsistencies with an easy-to-use tool that can be run in a central location.

This tool includes options that flag possible causes of database inconsistencies, such as:

asymmetric replication topologies
a high level of communication failures
WinsChk can detect these and warn the administrator

The tool also helps monitor the actual replication activity by allowing the user to:

check for version number inconsistencies
check for the state of one or more names at various WINS databases in the network.
The tool can be used in interactive or non-interactive mode. In the latter, a log of all the tool activity is kept in the local directory (Winstst.log). The option to monitor WINS activity can be run in the background, which dumps all logs into Monitor.log.

WinsChk Topic

WinsChk Options
File Required

Winschk.exe

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