Service Managed GatewayTM

How to Configure NetBIOS and

WINS Proxy

Issue 1.0
Date 14 August 2007
How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction .............................................................................................. 3

1.1 What is NetBIOS? ................................................................................... 3
1.2 NetBIOS services .................................................................................... 3
1.3 What is a proxy server? .......................................................................... 3
1.4 WINS proxy ............................................................................................ 3
1.5 WINS proxy and remote access .............................................................. 4
2.0 Configuring WINS proxy on your branch office Gateway ........................... 5
3.0 Configuring WINS proxy on branch office (remote) PC client operating
systems ..................................................................................................... 8
3.1 Configuring WINS proxy on Windows 95/98 .......................................... 8
3.2 Configuring WINS proxy on Windows NT Workstation .......................... 16
4.0 Remote access through your Gateway/WINS proxy ................................ 20
4.1 How to remotely view office machines.................................................. 20
4.2 How to use remote printers .................................................................. 20
4.3 How to map remote network drives ...................................................... 21
4.4 Local users connecting to remote machines.......................................... 21

© 2007 Virtual Access (Irl) Ltd. This material is protected by copyright. No part of this material may be reproduced,
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 How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Introduction

1.0 Introduction

1.1 What is NetBIOS?

The Network Basic Input/Output System (NetBIOS) is a program that facilitates
communication between devices on a local area network (LAN). At the session layer
it provides applications with an application programming interface (API) for sharing
devices and information across lower-layer network protocols such as Internet
Protocol (IP). This means that the applications can communicate with other
applications on networked devices without needing information about network
details.

1.2 NetBIOS services

NetBIOS services fall into four categories:

name service

session service

datagram service

miscellaneous services
The name service allows applications to identify its own name as being unique. It
also allows applications to manage names, and to identify server addresses on the
basis of names.
The session service is connection orientated. It facilitates the reliable exchange of
sequenced information between applications (or groups of applications) over a
network. This service is appropriate when destination applications must
acknowledge receipt of information.
The datagram service permits session-free (“connectionless”) exchange or
broadcasting of information between applications (or groups of applications) over a
network. This service is appropriate when destination applications do not need to
acknowledge receipt of information.
Miscellaneous services deal with abnormal situations, such as errors.

1.3 What is a proxy server?

A proxy server is an intermediary server that sits between a client and its actual
server. The proxy server facilitates security, administration, and information
caching. In a LAN environment, the proxy server is generally between the gateway
and the outside network.

1.4 WINS proxy

Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) constitutes a distributed database that
registers NetBIOS names and corresponding IP addresses, and supports dynamic
queries against them for name resolution. A WINS proxy maintains a mapping table
of computer machine names to local IP addresses. It allows transparent access to

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 How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Introduction

the office LAN by using this table to convert between the Service Managed
Gateway’s IP address and the address of the destination machine on the home
network. The purpose of the WINS proxy on your Service Managed Gateway is to
allow Gateway clients to gain remote access to the office Windows network.

Many organizations use private data connections to connect branch offices to the
central network. To reduce overheads associated with maintaining IP address
schemes at remote branches, it is often desirable to configure address translation
at the remote site and use a local Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
server to allocate addresses dynamically and automatically to branch office PC’s.
This allows the administrator to allocate a single address per remote office, namely,
the address allocated to the wide-area connection of the router of gateway.
Microsoft networking requires the use of WINS, which does not operate across a
network translation boundary. To resolve this problem, the router must support an
application ‘proxy’ that intelligently ‘translates’ the WINS protocol across this
boundary. This is the function of the WINS proxy that operates on the router at the
remote at the remote branch or office.

1.5 WINS proxy and remote access

You can configure your Vanguard as a WINS proxy in order to facilitate remote
access to the main office Windows network. When you configure a WINS proxy on
an Internet Protocol Address Translation (IPAT)-enabled Service Managed Gateway,
you enable remote Microsoft networking. This means that offsite users can log onto
the main office network (LAN) through the remote router or gateway’s WINS proxy
server and see all devices on that network. Also, with appropriate permission,
offsite users can see, download, and send files to machines on the LAN.

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 How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on your branch office Gateway

2.0 Configuring WINS proxy on your branch office

Gateway
To configure WINS proxy to allow Microsoft networking through a router/gateway
with address translation enabled, you need to configure the proxy feature on the
branch office router and ensure that the local (branch office) PC’s behind the router
are set for WINS operation.
The main site’s router should be configured without IPAT or WINS proxy enabled.
You use the advanced web configuration pages to configure WINS proxy on your
branch office (remote) Gateway. To open these pages, first click the Advanced icon
on the Fast Start wizard start page.

Now click the Expert view option in the menu on the side of the screen. This
opens the advanced configuration section. Locate the System folder in the table of
contents at the side of the screen.
Expand the System folder and locate the NetBIOS folder in its contents. Expand this
folder:

Now click the NetBIOS proxy configuration page. This displays the NetBIOS proxy
form:

NetBIOS Proxy Enabled

Enable the NetBIOS proxy by choosing ‘yes’ from the drop-down list.
NetBIOS Interface
Set the NetBIOS interface to the LAN’s normal associated WAN. This should be the
same as the default route for your Service Managed Gateway (normally ppp-1).

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How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on your branch office Gateway

Note: to view the default route, open System>Internet Protocol (or ip)>Default
Route in the Advanced Configuration table of contents and look at the value of the
Next Hop for Unnumbered interfaces field.

WINS address
Use the fields provided to fill in the address of the WINS server. The address you
specify is the address of your WINS server on the main office subnet — if you are
unsure of this value, please contact your systems administrator. This is the address
to which windows logon packets are directed when they route through the Service
Managed Gateway.
Wins Address Configured
Set this to ‘yes’ if you have configured the WINS address (see above).
Once you have filled in the described fields, click Update. This opens the
Configuration Update Result output form:

Status
States whether the configuration was committed successfully
Errors
Displays information about any errors during the commit
Save
Provides a reminder and link to save the configuration
Reboot?
Provides a reminder that you must reboot the system to implement the changes
To save the configuration, click the saved to flash link in the Configuration Update
Result output form. This opens the Save Configuration to Flash form:

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How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on your branch office Gateway

Choose the configuration in which you want to save the updated NetBIOS settings
from the drop-down list. Now click Save.
You must reboot your system in order to implement the new configuration. To do
this, click the Reload Router button.
Note: When you reload the router, you will terminate all currently active calls.

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 How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on branch office PC client operating systems

3.0 Configuring WINS proxy on branch office (remote)

PC client operating systems
You must ensure that branch office (remote) PC’s behind the proxy are correctly
configured to support Microsoft networking.

3.1 Configuring WINS proxy on Windows 95/98

Click the Start menu and select Settings>Control Panel.

In the Control Panel window that opens, click the Network icon:

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How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on branch office PC client operating systems

This opens the Network dialog box. Locate the TCP/IP properties row:

Click the TCP/IP 3Com EtherLink 10/100 PCI row to open the TCP/IP Properties
dialog box:

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How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on branch office PC client operating systems

Select the IP Address tab and click the radio button beside Obtain an IP
address automatically.

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How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on branch office PC client operating systems

Now select the WINS Configuration tab:

Make sure that the radio button beside Use DHCP for WINS Resolution is
selected.

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How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on branch office PC client operating systems

Select the Bindings tab.

Make sure that the Client for Microsoft Networks checkbox is selected.
Click OK to close the TCP/IP Properties dialog box.

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How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on branch office PC client operating systems

In the Network window, select Client for Microsoft Networks.

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How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on branch office PC client operating systems

Click the Properties button to open the Client for Microsoft Networks Properties
dialog box:

Select the Log on to Windows NT domain checkbox and click OK.

Now select the Identification tab in the Network window.

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How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on branch office PC client operating systems

Computer name
Enter the name of the computer. This is usually the same as the user’s name.
Workgroup
Enter the set domain name here.
Computer description
Provide a brief description of the computer.
Select the Configuration tab, and double-click File and Printer Sharing for
Microsoft Networks.

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 How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on branch office PC client operating systems

In the window that opens, click Browse Master to highlight it, then select Disabled
from the drop-down list. Click OK to close the window.
Click OK in the Network window to update the settings.

3.2 Configuring WINS proxy on Windows NT Workstation

Log on to your NT Workstation as an administrator (make sure that you select your
machine when you log on). Click the Start menu and select Settings>Control
Panel.

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How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on branch office PC client operating systems

In the Control Panel window that opens, click the Network icon:

This opens the Network window:

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How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on branch office PC client operating systems

In the Identification tab, click the Change button. This opens the Identification
Changes dialog box:

You may change the name of the machine to another name that is registered on
the network, although this is not usually necessary. To do this, enter the new name
in the Computer Name field.
Select the radio button beside Workgroup and enter a name for the workgroup in
the associated field.
Click OK, then restart your PC and log on as an administrator on your machine.
This will have the name that you assigned to it in the Computer Name field shown
above.
Reopen the Network window and click Change as described above.

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How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Configuring WINS proxy on branch office PC client operating systems

Select the Domain radio button and enter the corporate domain name in the
associated field.
Note: it is very important to cite the correct domain name here.
Select Create a Computer Account in the Domain, then fill in administrator
details in the User Name and Password fields.
Click OK, then wait for a welcome message to the new domain.
You must now reboot your PC. When you log on again with a username and
password that allow access to the corporate network, you select the domain from
the drop-down list that you specified in the Identification Changes dialog box.

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 How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Remote access through your Gateway/WINS proxy

4.0 Remote access through your Gateway/WINS proxy

When you log on to your remote PC, enter your network username, password, and
domain as prompted. Now you are able to

view all machines on the office network,

use printers on the office network, and

map network drives on the office network.
In addition, local users on the office network can view your remote PC. The
NetBIOS features described here will only be available to remote users that log on
to the office network successfully.

4.1 How to remotely view office machines

After you log on to the office network through the WINS proxy server, you can view
machines on the office network through Network Neighborhood in Windows
Explorer.

4.2 How to use remote printers

As a remote user connected through the WINS proxy, you can use a printer on the
office network. To do this, select Start>Settings>Printers on the remote PC. This
opens the Printers window.

Double-click the Add Printer icon and add the required printer using the wizard.
When the printer’s icon appears, right-click it and print a test page.

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 How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Remote access through your Gateway/WINS proxy

4.3 How to map remote network drives

If you log on to the office network through the WINS proxy as a remote user, you
can map a network drive on the LAN. To do this, open Network Neighborhood in
Windows Explorer on the remote PC. From the menu bar, select Tools>Map
Network Drive. This opens the Map Network Drive dialog box:

Drive:
Select the drive to which you want to map from the drop-down list.
Path:
Enter the server and share name of the resource in the format
\\servername\sharename. You may have the option to browse to the relevant
resource.
Click OK.

4.4 Local users connecting to remote machines

The office user’s PC must have a route to the remote user’s PC to connect to it. To
configure this route, use the DOS prompt.
At the prompt, type Route add <remote-PC-network-IP-address> MASK
<remote-PC-network-mask office network-router-IP-address>
For example:
Route add 60.60.60.0 MASK 255.255.255.0 10.1.1.1
To see the remote user’s PC, Select Start>Run on the office PC. The Run dialog
box appears.

Note: Office users cannot see remote user PCs in the Network Neighborhood.

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How to Configure NetBIOS and WINS Proxy Remote access through your Gateway/WINS proxy

In the Open field of the Run dialog box, enter the remote user PC’s name in the
format \\machinename.

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