Slow Performance Across Token Ring Source Routers with NetBEUI

ID: Q147874

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 95
Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release version 1
Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release version 2
Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release version 2.1

SYMPTOMS

Network performance may be slow when you are using programs that repeatedly connect and disconnect from servers across a source routing bridge in a Token Ring environment.

CAUSE

When you are using the NetBEUI protocol on a Token Ring network, a NameQuery packet is broadcast several times without the source routing field set. If there is no response to half the possible name query requests, remaining requests are resubmitted with the source routing field set. This behavior was designed to reduce network traffic on the LAN. If a program repeatedly establishes connections and disconnects from servers across a source routing bridge, network performance is greatly reduced.

RESOLUTION

This issue is resolved by the following updated file for Windows 95 and OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2), and later versions of this file:


   NETBEUI.VXD  version 4.00.951  dated 1/5/96  45,780 bytes

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Windows 95 and OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2). An update to address this problem is now available, but is not fully regression tested and should be applied only to computers experiencing this specific problem. Unless you are severely impacted by this specific problem, Microsoft does not recommend implementing this update at this time. Contact Microsoft Technical Support for additional information about the availability of this update.

This issue is resolved in Microsoft Windows 98.

MORE INFORMATION

This update recognizes a registry entry that enables the source routing information on all NameQuery packets. The default is to send the first four NameQuery requests without the source routing information. To enable source routing information on all NameQuery packets, add the string value

QueryAlwaysUsesSourceRouting

to the registry under the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VXD\Netbeui

If the data value is "1" NetBEUI uses source routing information in all NameQuery packets. The default value of "0" broadcasts half of the NameQuery packets on the local ring first without source routing information.

For additional information about Windows 95 updates, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q161020 Implementing Windows 95 Updates

Additional query words: router bridge wan netbios

Keywords : kbnetwork osr1 osr2 ndis3x win95
Version : WINDOWS:95
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbprb