Troubleshoot NetBIOS Name Resolution
by Using NBTStat

NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) resolves NetBIOS names to IP addresses. TCP/IP provides many options for NetBIOS name resolution, including local cache lookup, WINS server query, broadcast, DNS server query, and LMHOSTS and HOSTS lookup.

Nbtstat is a useful tool for troubleshooting NetBIOS name resolution problems. The nbstat command allows for removing or correcting preloaded entries.

• nbtstat -n displays the names that were registered locally on the system by applications such as the server and redirector.
• nbtstat -c shows the NetBIOS name cache, which contains name-to-address mappings for other computers.
• nbtstat -R purges the name cache and reloads it from the LMHOSTS file.
• nbtstat -a <name> performs a NetBIOS adapter status command against the computer specified by name. The adapter status command returns the local NetBIOS name table for that computer plus the MAC address of the adapter card.
• nbtstat -S lists the current NetBIOS sessions and their status, including statistics, as shown in the following example:

  
  

  NetBIOS Connection Table Local Name State In/Out Remote Host Input Output ------------------------------------------------------------------ DAVEMAC1 <00> Connected Out CNSSUP1<20> 6MB 5MB DAVEMAC1 <00> Connected Out CNSPRINT<20> 108KB 116KB DAVEMAC1 <00> Connected Out CNSSRC1<20> 299KB 19KB DAVEMAC1 <00> Connected Out STH2NT<20> 324KB 19KB DAVEMAC1 <03> Listening