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Q249841: INFO: How Win9x DS Client Uses AD Site Information

Article: Q249841
Product(s): Microsoft Windows NT
Version(s): WINDOWS:
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbOSWin95 kbOSWin98 kbDSupport
Last Modified: 07-DEC-2000

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, on platform(s):
   - the operating system: Microsoft Windows 95 
   - the operating system: Microsoft Windows 98 
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, on platform(s):
   - the operating system: Microsoft Windows 95 
   - the operating system: Microsoft Windows 98 
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server, on platform(s):
   - the operating system: Microsoft Windows 95 
   - the operating system: Microsoft Windows 98 
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SUMMARY
=======

Site awareness is a key feature in Directory Services (DS) Client. The following
article describes new Microsoft Windows 95 and Microsoft Windows 98 behavior in
locating Domain Controllers (DCs) when the DS Client is installed and the user
is logged into a Microsoft Windows 2000 domain.

NOTE: The Directory Services Client is included on the Windows 2000 CD-ROM in the
Clients\Win9x\Dsclient.exe file. You must install the Windows 95 or Windows 98
DS Client package in order to make use of the functionality described in this
article.

MORE INFORMATION
================

Windows 95 and Windows 98 DS Client Logon Behavior
--------------------------------------------------

The DS Client attempts to find a DC that is in a site closest to the client. When
a user logs on from Windows 95 or Windows 98 with the DS Client installed, the
system sends a datagram to all domain controllers in the user's domain. The
domain controllers may be Windows 2000 domain controllers or pre-Windows 2000
domain controllers (that is, Microsoft Windows NT version 3.5, 3.51, or 4.0).
For brevity, we refer to all pre-Windows 2000 domain controllers as Windows NT
4.0 DCs.

Windows 2000 domain controllers respond to the datagram with information that
includes the domain controller's Domain Name System (DNS) domain name, the DC's
site, the client's site, and a flag. Windows NT 4.0 DCs respond as they normally
do without site information.

If the response from the Windows 2000 DC indicates that client is not in the same
site as the DC, the client will retry the discovery, by using the DC's DNS
domain name and client's site name, until either:

1. An appropriate DC (one in the client's site) responds.

2. If no appropriate Windows 2000 DC responds, the client will randomly select a
  Windows 2000 DC.

3. If no Windows 2000 DC responds, then a Windows NT 4.0 DC will be selected.

The Windows 95 or Windows 98 DS Client prefers to communicate with Windows 2000
domain controllers over Windows NT 4.0 domain controllers. The Windows 2000
domain controllers understand site concepts and can refer to other Windows 2000
domain controllers based on the client's site.

This functionality requires that the only protocol running on the Windows 95- or
Windows 98-based computer is NetBIOS over TCP (NetBT). NetBEUI and NwLnkNb are
not allowed.

Windows 95 and Windows 98 DS Client Password Change Behavior
------------------------------------------------------------

In a pre-Windows 2000 domain password, changes occur only on a primary domain
controller. In a Windows 2000 domain, any Windows 2000 domain controller can
make the change. The Windows 95 or Windows 98 DS Client takes advantage of this
architecture by using the same mechanism to find the DC as is used for logon.

Windows 95 and Windows 98 DS Client Distributed File System (Dfs) Location Behavior
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Windows 95 or Windows 98 DS client selects the domain controller based on the
process described for logon. This domain controller is used for obtaining the
Dfs information.

Preferred Server Registry Entry
-------------------------------

You may specify the preferred server to logon. If you specify this entry, the DS
Client will honor this request for logon. The Dfs and Change Password will still
behave as described in this article, regardless of whether or not the registry
is present.

Windows 95 Policy Load Balancing
--------------------------------

By default, Windows 95- and Windows 98-based computers query the Netlogon share
of the primary domain controller (PDC) for the Config.pol file unless you set
the registry manually. The Windows 9x DS Client does not change this behavior.

REFERENCES
==========

For additional information on Preferred Server Registry Entry, click the article
number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q185969 Domain Controller on Slow Link May Be Used for Domain Validation

For additional information on Windows 95 Policy Load Balancing, click the article
number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q197986 How to Configure Windows 95 Policies with Load Balancing

Additional query words:

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbOSWin95 kbOSWin98 kbDSupport 
Technology        : kbwin2000Search kbwin2000ProSearch
Version           : WINDOWS:
Issue type        : kbinfo

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