Re: Windows Browse Master?


"Yousuf Khan" <bbbl67@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:3cGdnS9dcuXwUhHenZ2dnUVZ_sGdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Okay as a followup to my question about Windows' unreliable networking.
> It was pretty much concluded that this is a result of the randomness of
> which machine picks up the browse master baton and runs with it. The
> solutions were to setup a domain controller on one of the machines, or
> setup a Linux box with Samba and all of this unreliability will go away.
> Assuming neither of those are feasible at this point in time, then what
> can I do to make sure a specific machine becomes browse master? Let's
> say a machine that I don't want to be the browse master has already
> picked up that baton, how do I make it give it up? And how do I manually
> make the other machine pick it up?
>

Isn't that the problem? IOW, if this could be readily solved, wouldn't MS
have done so? The answer is a domain controller! The problem w/ a strictly
"peer" based network such as Windows workgroups is, well..., EVERYONE IS A
PEER! There is no centralized domain controller, which would naturally lend
itself to be the "master browser" since it runs 24/7. Trying to establish a
master browser on Windows workgroups is a contradiction, peer based clients
come and go, the machine is turned off for long periods, then on for
extended periods, laptops come and go, and well..., who's to say ANY of
these should be the master. What you're asking for is some sort of "quasi
master browser", which when it goes offline, uses some algorithm to make
some other PC the master browser. I suppose such a thing could be
concocted, but the reason you won't see it from MS is that they have the
solution already, a domain controller (as you can see, the problem and
solution is circular).

One thing I've done is to make my desktop a 24/7 machine, thus I rarely have
these "I can't see the other PCs on my network" problems. I suppose I could
fix up the registry to FORCE it to be the master, but running 24/7 seems to
have circumvented problems w/o taking this measure. But IMO, you're
fighting a losing battle here. Windows workgroup networking is
fundamentally flawed in this regard. Perhaps one solution (workaround)
would be to make one machine a WINS server, and configure all clients to use
it. It still requires a 24/7 machine to service WINS, but it's a little
more straightforward than mucking w/ the registry.

Bottomline is, in a peer based network, there is no master browser, or
master ANYTHING, by definition. And no matter what you do, trying to make
it behave like a client/server network (ala 24/7 domains) is problematic.
If this feature is absolutely critical to you, then either a) move to a
domain, b) keep a PC up 24/7 w/ either a WINS server or registry change to
force it to be the master browser, or c) define a HOST/LMHOSTS files shared
by all clients w/ these names defined. Personally, I find the browser
facility of little use. As long as I can UNC names w/ IP addresses (and my
network is small enough that I know their IP addresses), I can still reach
any client. Works for me.

Jim


> Yousuf Khan


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Network shares and printing
    ... Windows cannot obtain the domain controller name for your computer network. ... (The specified domain either does not exist or could not be contacted. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web)
  • Re: Domain authenticating non-domain accounts
    ... The problem with doing as you suggest is that I am not a network ... that in a sense the domain controller trusts non-domain ... a machine running Windows 98 can still access file shares ...
    (microsoft.public.platformsdk.security)
  • Domain authenticating non-domain accounts
    ... I limited the tests to Windows ... on the network and joined to the domain prompted ... it does not explain why this domain controller was LESS strict about ... Many of the testing machines are actually virtual running under Virtual PC, ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.security)
  • Domain authenticating non-domain accounts
    ... I limited the tests to Windows ... on the network and joined to the domain prompted ... it does not explain why this domain controller was LESS strict about ... Many of the testing machines are actually virtual running under Virtual PC, ...
    (microsoft.public.platformsdk.security)
  • Re: Netbios TCPIP Master Browser
    ... In trying to find cause of a file share problem, I have observed that my Windows 2000 machine is the master browser. ... and now Network Neighborhood / My Network Places still have all the former names / shortcuts in the list. ... There are 2 servers in domain KINGDOM on transport ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web)