Common Questions About Browsing with Windows NT

ID: Q136712

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

SUMMARY

The following are common questions and answers regarding browsing with Windows NT on your local area network (LAN).

MORE INFORMATION

Question:

Does browsing printers work the same as browsing servers?

Answer:

Yes. When a print server announces itself, it sets the SV_TYPE_PRINTQ_SERVER bit in the announcement. Print manager requests domains and print servers in its NetServerEnum request.

Question:

If a multihomed computer connected to two disjoint networks runs Windows NT with TCP/IP installed and functions as a browser, can clients on one network browse servers on the other network?

Answer:

No. As far as the browser is concerned, these are two disjoint networks and the browser is not able to browse across disjoint networks (only across subnets on a single network). The critical issue is that NetBT presents the cards as distinct physical networks to the browser.

For a Domain Master Browser, the list of servers returned to the client only contains the servers that are associated with the endpoint the browse request was received on. This is done because the Domain Master Browser does not know if the servers on the other endpoint are reachable by the clients. Because backup browsers, or local Master Browsers, rely on the master list of servers from the Domain Master Browser, a local Master Browser (even if also multihomed), does not provide a list of remote severs either.

On the other hand, the IPX protocol presents a multihomed computer as a single atomic network, so the Windows NT browser browses across those networks.

For additional information about multihomed browsing, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q133241
TITLE : Browsing Domain Master Browsers w/ Multiple NICs and Protocols

Question:

What registry parameter is used to hide a server from the browser?

Answer:

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

Under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree, go to the following subkey:

\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters

From the Edit menu, choose Add Value and type:

Hidden

NOTE: This value is case sensitive and must begin with a capital H.

In the Data Type field, choose REG_DWORD and choose OK.

In the Data field, type 1 to enable hiding and choose OK.


   NOTE: Data field range: 0 or 1
         Default: 0 (false)

Restart your computer.

Question:

On a Windows NT Server, if you run Control Panel and choose Network, and then select Computer Browser and choose Configure, a dialog box with the option Other Domain appears. What does this option do?

Answer:

You can use this option to make a domain that only contains LAN Manger servers visible to a Windows NT browser.

NOTE: LAN Manager server browser announcements use the DOMAIN<00> name format. Windows NT based browsers ignore this name format by default.

Question:

What are the registry parameters related to browsing?

Answer:

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

Under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree, look under the following subkeys for some common registry settings that relate to browsing:

\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters\LMannounce

LMannounce parameter information:

Value is set to 1 (TRUE) to make Windows NT browser visible to LAN Manager clients. This setting causes the Windows NT browser to announce itself with a LAN Manager 2.x compatible server announcement.

\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\Parameters\IsDomainMaster

IsDomainMaster parameter information:

When set to 1, this parameter provides a priority boost to increase its likely hood of winning a master browser election. It does not allow the browse server to become the domain master browser. This value is a boolean value and can be any of the following: Yes/No, True/False, or 1/0.

MaintainServerList:

When set to NO, the server is not a browse server.

When set to YES, the server becomes a browse server.

When set to AUTO, the server becomes a browse master if the master browser asks it do so.

For additional information on browsing related Registry parameters, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q134985 TITLE : Browsing & Other Traffic Incur High Costs over ISDN Routers

Additional query words: prodnt


Keywords          : kbnetwork ntnetserv NTSrvWkst 
Version           : 3.5 3.51 4.0
Platform          : winnt 
Issue type        :

Last Reviewed: January 19, 1999