how to broadcast machine name from win2k?

[redss]

I have a 4 port router with a linux (knoppix) box running samba, and a win2k laptop.

From a command prompt on my win2k laptop, I can type "ping knoppix", and the win2k DNS knows the IP of "knoppix", apparently from receiving NBNS packets from knoppix (maybe since its running samba?)

How can I my win2k laptop to broadcast its machine name similarly, so that I can reach it by machine name rather than IP (which is likely to change everyday)

 

[chipk]

Is this like a linksys router with a 4 port hub? If so, your pc name will be resolved via broadcast.

 

[chipk]

Well, let me add a caveat to that, because it depends on how your Samba is config'd.

 

[redss]

Its a belkin 4 port router, but I assume it would have the same features as a linksys or netgear?

I tried an experiment: I ran a sniffer (ethereal) on my win2k box, to see how it resolved the name when I pinged knoppix.

I saw that it first did a DNS protocol query to the gateway, requesting IP for knoppix.mydomain.com, and the gateway (my router) responded "no such name".

Then it did a NBNS name query to the broadcast IP (192.168.2.255), and the knoppix server responded.

Next, I ran a sniffer on the linux (knoppix) box, and pinged the hostname of my win2k computer, and it only did a DNS query, not a NBNS query, so it never was able to resolve the hostname of my win2k box.

How can I get the linux box to find out the IP of the linux box? Would it involve configuring linux to broadcast an NBNS query to the subnet? Or to configure win2k to broadcast its IP with its hostname?

 

[chipk]

I forget if you need to do something in the smb.conf or the resolv.conf to get this to work.

Do you have NetBIOS over TCP/IP enabled on your Windows 2000 box? It would be in TCP/IP properties, Advanced, under the WINS tab.

 

[redss]

Thanks for your reply. On the TCP/IP WINS tab, the radio button that is selected is "use netbios setting from the DHCP server".

Do you think I can change this? The laptop is a company laptop that is used to connect to a domain, when its not used at home. What behavior would change if I do that?

 

[basst]

The only change would be that your laptop would be generating additional traffic on your network when trying to resolve names that are not resolved in your companies DNS servers.

Will also make your laptop less secure as it will be able to send out NETBIOS broadcasts.

Otherwise it will not interfere with the normal operation of your laptop whilst at work.

You can always disable the setting when you are at work.

 

[redss]

Thanks for the replies... please consider this issue closed. I discovered that the issue is due to the fact that the win2k box sends a NBNS query as well as a DNS query, and I have to figure out how to make the Linux box also send an NBNS query.