One of the important steps in trying to resolve IP problems is
determining if name resolution is working. It seems simple
enough: If you can connect to a computer by IP address and not
by NetBIOS name, the problem is with name resolution. That is
great, but what happens if NetBIOS name resolution is not
functioning? To help you overcome this obstacle, I will explore
the components of NetBIOS resolution and help isolate the cause
of name resolution problems. Which name are we talking about?
The first issue is determining the kind of name. In the Windows
client world, there are two basic types of names. The first kind
is a name for IP addresses. Host name resolution uses a host’s
file and DNS for resolution. The second kind of name is the
NetBIOS name, which is used for Windows (SMB) type sharing and
messaging. These are the names that are used when you are
mapping a drive or connecting to a printer. These names are
resolved either by using an LMHosts file on the local machine or
WINS server, or by broadcasting