NetBT Supports One IP Address per NIC

ID: Q131641

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation versions 3.5, 3.51, 4.0
Microsoft Windows NT Server versions 3.5, 3.51, 4.0
Microsoft Windows for Workgroups version 3.11
Microsoft TCP/IP-32 version 3.11, 3.11a and 3.11b
Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2

By design, NetBIOS over TCP/IP (NetBT) supports only one IP address per network card adapter (NIC).

It is possible to configure TCP/IP to have multiple IP addresses on a single NIC, but NetBT will only support the first address configured. This limitation is most apparent in an environment using Windows Internet Name Service (WINS). A computer configured with several IP Addresses on a single NIC will register its NetBIOS name with the WINS server as unique and list only one IP Address. Therefore, if a client queries that NetBIOS name it receives only one address in response to the query.

If you must have a computer that registers multiple IP Addresses, you need to use multiple NICs. Each NIC should have its own unique IP Address so the computer can register with WINS as multihomed. The NetBIOS name will then reference each of the IP Addresses, and when that NetBIOS name is queried by a client, the WINS server will return all of the registered addresses in response to the query.

Additional query words: prodnt prodtcp wfw wfwg


Keywords          : kbnetwork kbNetBIOS kbSDKPlatform nttcp NTSrvWkst kbGrpNet 
Version           : 3.5 3.51 3.11 3.11a 3.11b 4.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        :

Last Reviewed: February 26, 1999