Configuring WINS Servers

For each WINS server, you must configure threshold intervals for triggering database replication, based on a specific time, a time period, or a certain number of new records. If you designate a specific time for replication, this occurs one time only. If a time period is specified, replication is repeated at that interval.

To configure a WINS server

From the Server menu, choose the Configuration command.

This command is available only if you are logged on as a member of the Administrators group for the WINS server you want to configure.

To view all the options in this dialog box, choose the Advanced button.

For the configuration options in the WINS Server Configuration dialog box, specify time intervals as described in the following list.

Configuration option	Description
Renewal Interval	Specifies how often a client reregisters its name. The default is five hours.
Extinction Interval	Specifies the interval between when an entry is marked as released and when it is marked as extinct. The default is dependent on the renewal interval and, if the WINS server has replication partners, on the maximum replication time interval. maximum allowable value is four days.
Extinction Timeout	Specifies the interval between when an entry is marked extinct and when the entry is finally scavenged from the database. The default is dependent on the renewal interval and, if the WINS server has replication partners, on the maximum replication time interval. minimum allowable value is one day.
Verify Interval	Specifies the interval after which the WINS server must verify that old names it does not own are still active. The default is dependent on the extinction interval. . The maximum allowable value is 24 days.

The replication interval for this WINS server's pull partner is defined in the Preferences dialog box, as described in "Setting Preferences for WINS Manager" later in this chapter. The extinction interval, extinction timeout, and verify interval are derived from the renewal interval and the replication interval specified. The WINS server adjusts the values specified by the administrator to keep the inconsistency between a WINS server and its partners as small as possible.

If you want this WINS server to pull replicas of new WINS database entries from its partners when the system is initialized or when a replication-related parameter changes, select the Initial Replication in the Pull Parameters checkbox, and then type a value for Retry Count.

The retry count is the number of times the server should attempt to connect (in case of failure) with a partner for pulling replicas. Retries are attempted at the replication interval specified in the Preferences dialog box. If all retries are unsuccessful, WINS waits for a period before starting replication again. For information about setting the start time and replication interval for pull and push partners, see "Setting Preferences for WINS Manager" later in this chapter.

To inform partners of the database status when the system is initialized, select the Initial Replication checkbox in the Push Parameters group. To inform partners of the database status when an address changes in a mapping record, select the Replicate On Address Change checkbox.
Set any Advanced WINS Server Configuration options, as described in the following table.

Table 14.3 Advanced WINS Server Configuration Options;

Configuration option	Description
Logging Enabled	Specifies whether logging of database changes to JET.LOG should be turned on.
Log Detailed Events	Specifies whether logging events is verbose. (This requires considerable system resources and should be turned off if you are tuning for performance.)
Replicate Only With Partners	Specifies that replication will be done only with WINS pull or push partners. If this option is not checked, an administrator can ask a WINS server to pull or push from or to a non-listed WINS server partner. By default, this option is checked.
Backup On Termination	Specifies that the database will be backed up automatically when WINS Manager is stopped, except when the system is being shut down.
Migrate On/Off	Specifies that static unique and multihomed records in the database are treated as dynamic when they conflict with a new registration or replica. This means that if they are no longer valid, they will be overwritten by the new registration or replica. Check this option if you are upgrading non-Windows NT systems to Windows NT. By default, this option is not checked.
Starting Version Count	Specifies the highest version ID number for the database. Usually, you will not need to change this value unless the database becomes corrupted and needs to start fresh. In such a case, set this value to a number higher than appears as the version number counter for this WINS server on all the remote partners that earlier replicated the local WINS server's records. WINS may adjust the value you specify to a higher one to ensure that database records are quickly replicated to other WINS servers. The maximum allowable value is 231 - 1.This value can be seen in the View Database dialog box in WINS Manager.
Database Backup Path	Specifies the directory where the WINS database backups will be stored. If you specify a backup path, WINS automatically performs a full backup of its database to this directory every 24 hours. WINS uses this directory to perform an automatic restoration of the database in the event that the database is found to be corrupted when WINS is started. Do not specify a network directory.

When you have completed all changes in the WINS Server Configuration dialog box, choose the OK button.