Windows Internet Name Service

Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) is Microsoft's implementation of NetBIOS Name Server (NBNS) on Windows, a name server and service for NetBIOS computer names. Effectively, WINS is to NetBIOS names, what DNS is to domain names - a central mapping of host names to network addresses. However, the mappings are dynamically updated (e.g. at workstation boot), so that when a client needs to contact another computer on the network it can get its up-to-date DHCP allocated address. Networks normally have more than one WINS server and each WINS server should be in push pull replication; the favored replication model is the hub and spoke, thus the WINS design is not central but distributed. Each WINS server holds a full copy of every other related WINS system's records. There is no hierarchy in WINS (unlike DNS), but like DNS its database can be queried for the address to contact rather than broadcasting a request for which address to contact. The system therefore reduces broadcast traffic on the network, however replication traffic can add to WAN / LAN traffic.

As of Windows 2000, DNS provides the favoured alternative to WINS, as part of Active Directory ( What is WINS? - WINS and DNS. Microsoft (2003-03-28). Retrieved on 2007-03-19.). Providing DNS is available, WINS would only be necessary if pre-Windows 2000 clients or servers needed to resolve names.

Samba can also act as a WINS (NBNS) server.