How to migrate a WINS Database from Windows 2000-based WINS server to a Windows 2003-based WINS server

This step-by-step article describes how to migrate a Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) database from a computer that is running Microsoft Windows 2000 Server to a computer that is running Microsoft Windows Server 2003. When the migration is complete, the computer that is running Windows 2000 Server is removed from the network, and the computer that is running Windows Server 2003 functions as the WINS server.


WINS resolves NetBIOS names to Internet Protocol (IP) addresses on a Windows network. Clients on a WINS-enabled network can dynamically register, update, and remove their names from a WINS-maintained database. As an administrator, you can also assign static entries in a WINS database for computers that are running operating systems other than Windows. Additionally, you can provide redundancy by replicating the WINS database to more than one WINS server on your network. For addresses that are outside your network, you can enable the WINS server to refer to a statically configured LMHosts file.

Note:Migration of WINS database files between differing processor architectures (x86 to x64, or x64 to x86) is not supported.

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Install WINS on the computer that is running Windows Server 2003

Before you install WINS, collect the following information:

• The static IP address of your WINS server.
  
  Note If your server resides on a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)-based network, you have to exclude the IP address from the DHCP scope. For additional information about how to configure your DHCP server, search Windows Help for "DHCP".
• The subnet mask.
• The IP address of the default gateway (router).
• The IP address of the preferred DNS server.
• The IP address of the alternate DNS server, if applicable.

To install a WINS server on the computer that is running Windows Server 2003, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs, and then click Add/Remove Windows Components.
   
   The Windows Components Wizard starts.
2. Under Components, click to select Networking Services, and then click Details.
3. Under Subcomponents of Networking Services, click to select the Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) check box, and then click OK.
4. Click Next.
   
   If you are prompted, insert the Windows Server 2003 CD into the computer's CD drive or DVD drive, and then click Continue. The required files are copied to your hard disk.
5. When Setup is complete, click Finish, and then click Close.

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Configure TCP/IP to Use WINS

To configure TCP/IP to Use WINS on the computer that is running Windows Server 2003, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Control Panel, and then double-click Network Connections.
2. Right-click the network connection you want to configure, and then click Properties.
   
   For example, right-click Local Area Connection, and then click Properties.
3. If the connection is a local area connection, click the General tab. Otherwise, click the Networking tab.
4. Click to select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), click Properties, and then click Use the following IP address.
5. Enter the IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway addresses in the appropriate boxes.
   
   Note If your network has only one subnet, leave the Default gateway box blank.
6. Click Use the following DNS server addresses.
7. Enter the primary and alternate DNS server addresses in the appropriate boxes.
   
   Note If you do not have an alternate DNS server, leave the Alternate DNS server box blank.
8. Click Advanced, click the WINS tab, and then click Add.
9. Type the local IP address of the Windows Server 2003 WINS server, and then click Add.
10. Click OK two times, and then click Close.

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Add the WINS Server to the WINS service

Note If the console tree already lists the WINS server that you want to manage, you do not have to add the WINS server to the WINS service.

To add the WINS server to the WINS service, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click WINS.
   
   The WINS service opens.
2. On the Action menu, click Add Server.
3. In the WINS server box, type the NetBIOS name or the IP address of the WINS server, and then click OK.

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Move the WINS database from Windows 2000 Server to Windows Server 2003

To move the WINS database to the new server, follow these steps:

1. On the Windows 2000 Server-based computer, open the WINS service, and then stop replication partners.
2. Remove replication partners from the list of WINS replication partners.
3. Stop the WINS server on the Windows 2000 Server computer and on the target Windows Server 2003 computer. To do this, follow these steps:
   
   1. Click Start, click Run, type cmd in the Open box, and then click OK.
   2. At the command prompt, type net stop wins, and then press ENTER.
   3. Type exit, and then press ENTER to quit the command prompt.
4. Move or delete the contents of the %systemroot%\System32\Wins directory on the target Windows Server 2003 computer.
5. Copy the Wins.mdb file from the source Windows 2000-based computer to the target Windows Server 2003-based computer.
6. Start WINS on the target Windows Server 2003-based computer. To do this, type net start wins at the command prompt, and then press ENTER.
7. Verify that the following files are listed in the %systemroot%\System32\Wins folder on the target Windows Server 2003-based computer:
   • j50.chk
   • j50.log
   • j50tmp.log
   • res1.log
   • res2.log
   • wins.mdb
   • winstmp.mdb
8. Take the source Windows 2000-based computer offline.
9. Use the WINS service to examine the WINS database, and then remove any records that use the IP address of the source Windows 2000-based computer.
10. Click Start, click Run, type nbtstat -RR in the Open box, and then press ENTER.
11. Verify that the records with the old IP address do not re-appear, and that the new server correctly registers the appropriate records.
12. On the target Windows Server 2003-based computer, use the WINS service to add any existing WINS servers as replication partners.
    
    For additional information about how to set up replication partners, search Windows Help for "WINS replication".

Note This article also applies to migrating a WINS database from Windows 2003-based WINS server to a Windows 2003-based WINS server.

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