- B-Nodes
(Broadcast nodes)
- A Broadcast Node (B-node) is a type of NetBIOS end node that supports
NetBIOS service and contains applications. B-nodes communicate using a
mix of UDP datagrams and TCP connections. B-nodes can freely
interoperate with one another within a broadcast area; normally a single
LAN segment. Other standard end nodes are point-to-point nodes
(P-nodes) and Mixed-mode nodes (M-nodes).
- Browsing
- Browsing refers to viewing the resources available on a network.
The browse list on a Windows network is the list of other hosts and domains
available on a network. Windows maintains the browse list to present
other hosts offering network services through a point-and-click user interface
rather than asking users to remember the names of remote hosts and
services. Windows clients use the browse list to construct the view of
the network shown in the Network Neighborhood (renamed My Network
Places in Windows 2000) and Windows Explorer. The browse list is
also accessible from the command line using the NET VIEW
command.
Windows for Workgroups and Windows NT domains maintain the browse list on a
computer called the Master Browser. Whenever a computer offers a
network service for the first time, it broadcasts a server announcement
packet. The Master Browser receives this packet and adds the
computer's name to its browse list. In response, the Master
Browser transmits a list of backup browsers to the new computer.
Each domain or NT group contains at least one backup browser. A copy
of the browse list is maintained on the backup browser to eliminate the need
to rebuild the browse list if the Master Browser goes down. For more
information about NT domains and network browsing, see the related Microsoft
technet site on the World Wide Web.
- CIFS
- CIFS stands for Common Internet File System protocol. CIFS provides
an open cross-platform mechanism for client systems to request file services
from server systems over a network. It is based on the Server Message
Block protocol widely in use by PCs and workstations running a wide variety of
operating systems. It is a draft submitted by Microsoft to the Internet
Engineering Task Force for transparent file access across the Internet.
- NetBIOS
- NetBIOS, or Network Basic Input/Output System, is a vendor-independent
network interface originally designed for IBM PC computer systems running
PC-DOS or MS-DOS. NetBIOS is a software interface, not an actual
networking protocol. It specifies the services that should be available
without putting any restrictions on the protocol used to implement those
services.
There is no officially defined NetBIOS standard. The original
version, as described by IBM in 1984 in the IBM PC Network Technical
Reference Manual, is treated as the de facto standard. Since its
introduction, three main versions of NetBIOS have emerged, each using its own
transport protocol: NetBEUI, NetBIOS over IPX, and NetBIOS over
TCP/IP.
AIX Fast Connect uses NetBIOS over TCP/IP.
- NetBIOS Interface to Application Programs
- On PCs, NetBIOS includes both a set of services and an exact program
interface to those services. There are three types of NetBIOS
services:
- Name Service
- NetBIOS resources are referenced by name. Lower level addresses are
not available to NetBIOS applications. An application representing a
resource registers one or more names that it wants to use.
The name space is flat and not hierarchically organized. It uses 15
alphanumeric characters, plus a 16th "subcode" byte. Names cannot start
with an asterisk (*).
Registration implies bidding for use of a name. The bid may be for
exclusive (unique) or shared (group) ownership. Each application
contends with other applications in real time. No two applications on
the NetBIOS network can use the same unique name until the originating
application requests that its name be deleted or the host is powered off or
reset.
The three primitive operations provided by Name Service are Add
Name, Add Group Name, and Delete Name.
- Session Service
- A session is a full-duplex, sequenced, and reliable message
exchange conducted between a pair of NetBIOS applications. Data is
organized into messages.
Multiple sessions can exist between any two applications. Both
applications participating in the session have access to the name of the
remote application. No specification is given for resolving session
requests to a group name into a data connection. A service is provided
for the detection of a session failure by an application.
The Session Service primitives are Call, Listen,
Hang Up, Send, Receive, and Session
Status.
- Datagram Service
- The Datagram Service is an unreliable, nonsequenced, and connectionless
communication between two NetBIOS applications. It is analogous to UDP
service under TCP/IP.
Datagrams are sent under cover of a name properly registered to the
sender. Datagrams can be sent to a specific name or be explicitly
broadcast.
Datagrams sent to an exclusive name are received, if at all, by the holder
of that name. Datagrams sent to a group name are multicast to all
holders of that name. The sending application cannot distinguish
between group and unique names and thus must act as if all nonbroadcast
datagrams are multicast.
As with the Session Service, the receiver of the datagram is told the
sending and receiving names.
The Datagram Service primitives are Send Datagram, Send
Broadcast Datagram, Receive Datagram, and Receive
Broadcast Datagram.
- NetBIOS Name Resolution
- Name Resolution refers to mapping a NetBIOS name to its
corresponding IP address. The techniques commonly used for name
resolution are the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS), the
LMHOSTS file, and the domain name system (DNS). DNS is
explained in TCP/IP Name Resolution. The
other techniques are defined below:
- WINS/NBNS
- When a new service is made available on the network, such as when a
Windows machine boots or when AIX Fast Connect is started, the service must be
registered with a WINS server before it can be available to clients located on
other subnets. The WINS server records the name of the host, the NT
domain the host is part of, and the IP address of the host. Whenever a
machine attempts to resolve a host name, it first checks with the WINS
server. If the host is not registered there, it attempts to find the
host using a broadcast. If the host is still not found, the system
returns a computer or sharename could not be found. AIX
Fast Connect properly registers itself with any WINS server.
WINS also includes a method for replicating its database of host names with
other WINS servers to create a backup WINS server that can host queries if the
primary WINS server is unavailable. It also allows large networks that
are encumbered by slow links to distribute WINS servers closer to clients and
provide faster name resolution. (WINS is a proprietary Microsoft
protocol.)
AIX Fast Connect can be configured to act as a NBNS (NetBIOS Name Service)
server, providing most WINS functionality. AIX Fast Connect can also be
configured to act as a WINS proxy to other WINS or NBNS servers. (See
NetBIOS Name Service for details.)
- LMHOSTS
- LMHOSTS stands for LanManager Hosts and is analogous to the UNIX
/etc/hosts file. The LMHOSTS file allows specific
NetBIOS server names to be mapped to IP addresses. It also provides a
syntax for defining the domain a NetBIOS server resides in, as well as loading
a LMHOSTS file from a shared directory on a server.
For more details on the LMHOSTS file, refer to the Windows
NT Networking Guide or the Windows 95 Resource Kit.
- NetBIOS over TCP/IP
- NetBIOS over TCP/IP was first proposed in RFCs 1001 and 1002, which were
submitted to the Internet Engineering Task Force in 1987. These RFCs
describe an implementation of NetBIOS using Transmission Control Protocol
(TCP) for connection-oriented session services and User Datagram Protocol
(UDP) for datagram services.
This design has some significant advantages over NetBEUI and NetBIOS over
IPX. First, it uses the existing TCP/IP protocols, so it can be routed
across the global Internet and any other wide area networks. Secondly,
software implementing the NetBIOS interface can be built using existing TCP/IP
implementation without requiring any new network drivers. Since most
operating systems already support TCP/IP, most are capable of supporting
NetBIOS with minimal additional effort.
- NetBIOS Scope
- A NetBIOS Scope is the population of computers across which a registered
NetBIOS name is known. NetBIOS broadcast and multicast datagram
operations must reach the entire extent of the NetBIOS scope.
- net Command
- The net command and its subcommands can be used to configure
and administer the AIX Fast Connect Server from the command line.
Alternatively, the Web-based System Manager and SMIT offer menu-driven
interfaces for the same tasks. For detailed information about the net command, refer to the AIX 5L Version
5.1 Commands Reference, Volume 4.
- Passthrough Authentication
- Passthrough authentication is a mechanism employed by the AIX Fast Connect
server to validate user credentials with a domain controller and, if
validated, to grant the user access to a resource on the AIX Fast Connect
server. For more details on passthrough authentication, refer to
Internet Draft, CIFS Login and Passthrough Authentication, Prelim Draft,
Jan 3, 1997.
- SMB
- SMB stands for Server Message Block. It is the protocol used on top
of NetBIOS to implement Windows file sharing and print services.
With this protocol, clients exchange messages (called Server Message
Blocks) with a server to access resources on that server. Every SMB
message has a common format: it consists of a fixed-sized header
followed by a variable-sized parameter and data component.
SMB messages can be broken into the following types:
- Session control messages start, authenticate, and terminate
sessions.
- File and printer messages control file and printer access,
respectively.
- Message commands allow an application to send or receive messages to or
from another host.
When an SMB client negotiates a connection with an SMB server, the two
parties decide on a common protocol to use for communication. This
capability allows protocol extensions but can make SMB quite complex.
- Shares
- Shares are resources exported to the network by the AIX Fast Connect
server. The two types of shares supported by AIX Fast Connect are AIX
files and printers.
- Workgroups
- A workgroup is a logical collection of workstations and servers that do
not belong to a domain. In a workgroup, each computer stores its own
copy of user and group account information. Therefore, in workgroups,
users can only log directly onto machines on which they have accounts.
Workgroup members are able to view and use resources on other systems.
To do this, resources are shared in the workgroup and network users are
validated by the machine owning the resource.