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Q136712: Common Questions About Browsing with Windows

Article: Q136712
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): 2000,3.5,3.51,4.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbnetwork
Last Modified: 04-FEB-2002

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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 2000 Professional 
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server 
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server 
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SUMMARY
=======

The following are common questions and answers regarding browsing with Windows
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.

1. Under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE subtree, go to the following subkey:

  \SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters

2. From the Edit menu, choose Add Value and type:

  Hidden

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

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

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

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

5. 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 Manager 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

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Keywords          : kbnetwork 
Technology        : kbWinNTsearch kbWinNTWsearch kbWinNTW400 kbWinNTW400search kbWinNT351search kbWinNT350search kbWinNT400search kbWinNTW350 kbWinNTW350search kbWinNTW351search kbWinNTW351 kbwin2000AdvServ kbwin2000AdvServSearch kbwin2000Serv kbWinNTSsearch kbWinNTS400search kbWinNTS400 kbWinNTS351 kbWinNTS350 kbwin2000ServSearch kbwin2000Search kbwin2000ProSearch kbwin2000Pro kbWinNTS351search kbWinNTS350search kbWinAdvServSearch
Version           : :2000,3.5,3.51,4.0

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