Pass4sure cisco 642-415 exam practice engine
Designing a WINS Server Placement Strategy 156-215.1 70-643 NS0-201
Your goal, when designing a WINS strategy for your network infrastructure, is to have
the WINS service available to client workstations when they need it. Availability is at
risk when there is only one WINS server configured to support a large number of users.
If that server should fail, all of the users will now need to resolve NetBIOS names using
one of the other methods covered earlier: Lmhosts files or broadcasts. In situations in
which a slow link exists between two subnets, it is highly recommended that a WINS
server be placed in both subnets to maximize performance of client name-resolution
requests.
Just as much thought had to go into deciding where to place your DNS servers, you
can see that placing your WINS servers in the right location can also influence performance.
For example, a remote site that has several thousand users may warrant placing
a WINS server there to avoid the prospect of sending the traffic generated from name
registrations over a 128Kb frame relay connection. Once again, your network topology
diagrams are critical in making such decisions.
Fault Tolerance 70-237 70-445 70-271
When designing your WINS infrastructure, you should consider the possibility of something
going wrong—because it usually does. Having only one WINS server on a routed
network, regardless of how small the network is, can create problems if a WINS server
unexpectedly crashes due to hardware failure or is inadvertently shut down for maintenance
by a junior network administrator who is not aware that the server is running
WINS. By placing secondary WINS servers throughout your network infrastructure, you
reduce the effects of one server being unavailable for your clients. If cost is a factor
preventing you from implementing this, Lmhosts files configured with #PRE-tag entries
for critical servers are a good way of ensuring that clients can access network resources
in the event of a downed router or WINS server.
Non-Routed Networks
On a small LAN with one WINS server, you will not see as much of a problem with a
WINS server crashing as you would in a routed network. Users on the LAN would be
able to access all network resources located on the LAN using broadcast requests.
However, they may see a noticeable degredation in performance on low-bandwidth
networks.
Routed Networks
On a routed network, where users on a remote segment rely on the WINS server across
the router to perform NetBIOS name resolution, a WINS server that is made unavailable
could prevent users from doing their jobs. For example, all applications that relied
on NetBIOS name resolution would not function. Access to servers and printers may
not be possible for all remote users. Another possible problem could arise if the router
connecting to the subnet containing the WINS server failed. In designing your WINS
infrastructure, all of these scenarios must be considered. 70-642 642-373 642-415