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 WINSdatabase.
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.
