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Every few months I go searching for the answer to my "eternal Linux question" and my most recent odyssey has brought me here. Maybe someone will finally show me the way...

My LAN has a single linux/samba server as a Primary Domain Controller (as well as a file server), and several windows workstations. The workstations get their IP addresses from a Linksys cable router DHCP server.

This system continues to work as required to provide login authentication, and file shares, and has done so for a long time (years). In fact I am administering a half dozen such LANS that all have the same general characteristics.

However, I've never been able to get the linux machine to resolve the NETBios names of the windows machines. While this doesn't interfere with the primary goal of providing services to the windows machines, it does make administration more cumbersome.

Every time I find a "solution" to this problem in a book or newsgroup, I find that I'm already set up that way, or that the change doesn't help. Most recently I found a post in this forum that many said had solved their NETBios name resolution problem (adding "wins" to the hosts line of /etc/nsswitch.conf).

But it didn't change anything on my network.
.
I can see the Internet through the DSL router, I can ping the windows machines by IP address But "ping NETBiosname" returns "Unknown host NETBiosname", and "nmblookup NETBiosname" returns "name_query failed to find name NETBiosname"

Below is the network configuration on the Linux server. The windows machies have 192.168.0.99 added as a WINS server in their LAN configuration, otherwise they are just straight DHCP clients, and they can see the Linux machine as well as each other by name.

If you've read this far, you have my thanks!


Netgear RTL-8169 Gigabit Ethernet Card
static IP: 192.168.0.99
subnet: 255.255.255.0
hostname: Wizard
domain: BDCO
Name Server 1: 10.231.233.1
Name Server 2: 12.127.17.71
Default Gateway: 192.168.0.1 (Linksys router)

smb.conf:

# Wizard
#
# BDCO PDC
[global]
add machine script = /usr/sbin/useradd -c Machine -d /var/lib/nobody -s /bin/false %m$
admin users = @root
browseable = Yes
domain logons = Yes
domain master = Yes
encrypt passwords = Yes
guest ok = no
local master = Yes
logon drive = C:
logon path = \\%L\profiles\%U
logon script = bdconet.cmd
map to guest = Bad User
max protocol = NT
name resolve order = wins bcast lmhosts host
netbios name = WIZARD
os level = 65
passdb backend = tdbsam
passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u
preferred master = Yes
restrict anonymous = no
security = user
server signing = Auto
smb passwd file = /etc/samba/smbpasswd
unix password sync = yes
username map = /etc/samba/smbusers
wins support = yes
workgroup = BDCO

[netlogon]
path = /var/lib/samba/netlogon
write list = @root
browseable = no
comment = Network Logon Service

[profiles]
comment = Network Profiles Service
path = /var/lib/samba/profiles
read only = No
store dos attributes = Yes
create mask = 0600
directory mask = 0700
browseable = no

[root]
path = /
read only = no
browseable = no
valid users = @ntadmin

[BDCO]
path = /WIZbang2/BDCO
create mask = 0770
force create mode = 0770
directory mask = 0770
force directory mode = 0770
force group = +users
read only = no
browseable = yes
valid users = @users,@ntadmin

[personal]
path = /WIZbang1/personal
create mask = 0770
force create mode = 0770
directory mask = 0770
force directory mode = 0770
force group = +users
read only = no
browseable = yes
valid users = @users,@ntadmin

[sysback]
path = /WIZbang1/backup/sysback
read only = no
browseable = no
valid users = @ntadmin