NetBios on a Win2k ethernetwork - really necessary?

[DanglingPointer]

What use is NetBios on a Win2k Ethernet? The only use I know of is maintaining browser lists - is this really necessary and does it enhance network performance?

Etherpeek reports a good few "browser host announcements" with netbios-dgm as the port and SMB as the protocol.

It also reports a fair bit of use of the NetBios name service. One such user is Microsoft Exchange - does it need NetBios enabled?

 

[bcastner]

You could replace it all with WINS or even better DNS. But some older programs will likely require it. It is essentially a compatability feature not a requirement, but it would be a little risky to abandon it at the moment depending on applications used and the need to accomodate older Windows clients.

 

[DanglingPointer]

Yeah, thats what I was thinking... The traffics not too heavy anyway, thanks.