Loading...
NetBIOS Name Service
NetBIOS Name Service (NBNS) is an essential part of the NetBIOS protocol suite, primarily used for local network name resolution and registration in Windows-based environments. It enables networked devices to register their NetBIOS names and resolve others, facilitating communication across devices without relying on DNS..
NetBIOS Name Service (NBNS), operating typically on port 137, is fundamental in older Windows networking. NBNS handles the registration of NetBIOS names, making it possible for computers to broadcast their existence and for clients to resolve NetBIOS names to IP addresses within the same local network segment.
Historically, NetBIOS was developed for network communication over IBM PC Network and later extended in Windows networking architecture. NBNS acts similarly to DNS but for NetBIOS names, facilitating the association of network-layer IP addresses with application-layer NetBIOS names using broadcast or, with WINS, unicast queries.
In practice, NBNS exchanges take the form of UDP datagrams, but also include TCP fallback for larger transactions or specific service requirements. While newer Windows networks primarily use DNS alongside other discovery protocols, NBNS still persists as a legacy support feature, especially in mixed or legacy-heavy networks.