faster workroup search - predefined workroups?

Hello,

I'm having a network with about 250-300 clients (student hostel), and
I had to connect an old computer (OS had to be win98), which is
able to browse the whole network in order to open shared files.

There is a workgroup for every floor of the hostel, which contains all
the computers on this floor. The ip assignment is done by a DHCP-
Server on a Linux machine, but computers have to be registered first,
so that every MAC-address always has the same IP.

I've been able to setup the network on the win98 machine, but my
problem
is that the discovery of the workgroups/computers in the Network
Neighbourhood is extremely slow (15-20 min.), and sometimes even
incomplete. Does someone know, what may improove this speed?

My idea was to prepare a list with predefined WORGROUP-HOSTS
assignments, because the IP-Addresses are actually static.
Is there such a possibility in Windows?

Thank you for your responses!

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
| Hello,
|
| I'm having a network with about 250-300 clients (student hostel), and
| I had to connect an old computer (OS had to be win98), which is
| able to browse the whole network in order to open shared files.
|
| There is a workgroup for every floor of the hostel, which contains all
| the computers on this floor. The ip assignment is done by a DHCP-
| Server on a Linux machine, but computers have to be registered first,
| so that every MAC-address always has the same IP.
|
| I've been able to setup the network on the win98 machine, but my
| problem
| is that the discovery of the workgroups/computers in the Network
| Neighbourhood is extremely slow (15-20 min.), and sometimes even
| incomplete. Does someone know, what may improove this speed?
|
| My idea was to prepare a list with predefined WORGROUP-HOSTS
| assignments, because the IP-Addresses are actually static.
| Is there such a possibility in Windows?
|
| Thank you for your responses!
|

Did you try creating the proper hosts files on the Windows machines?
%windir%\hosts [check the hosts.sam] if your also runing XP you'll find the
same ability [different system location].

--
MEB
http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com/
BLOG - http://peoplescounsel.spaces.live.com/ Public Notice or the "real
world"
http://groups.google.com/group/the-peoples-law?hl=en - discussion group for
general aspects of Law verses the Peoples' of the world

"Most people, sometime in their lives, stumble across truth.
Most jump up, brush themselves off, and hurry on about their business as if
nothing had happen." Winston Churchill
Or to put it another way:
Morpheus can offer you the two pills;
but only you can choose whether you take the red pill or the blue one.
_______________

Hi MEB, thank you for your answer,

well I tought that the hosts file is actually for getting the hostname
from the IP.
The win98 box is actually able to do this (for example when i ping the
main server
I can do it either with "ping x.x.x.x" or with "ping servername").
The problem is that I don't know where to do the same thing for those
workgroup/NetBIOS-names.

Now I found a file called %windir%/lmhosts, as far as I understood I
can make such definitions there - i tried it, but nothing changed.
Does it have to be activated somehow? And is this the actual function
of this file, lmhosts?

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ps.com...
| Hi MEB, thank you for your answer,
|
| well I tought that the hosts file is actually for getting the hostname
| from the IP.
| The win98 box is actually able to do this (for example when i ping the
| main server
| I can do it either with "ping x.x.x.x" or with "ping servername").
| The problem is that I don't know where to do the same thing for those
| workgroup/NetBIOS-names.
|
| Now I found a file called %windir%/lmhosts, as far as I understood I
| can make such definitions there - i tried it, but nothing changed.
| Does it have to be activated somehow? And is this the actual function
| of this file, lmhosts?
|
|

As I'm not administering that network [or any anymore for that matter],
here
are a few helpful KBs from Microsoft:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/180094/en-us - How to write an Lmhosts file
for domain validation and other name resolution issues

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/137856/en-us - Windows Does Not Parse
LMHOSTS File with DNS Enabled

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/233193/en-us - LMHOSTS File Referenced in
#INCLUDE Is Not Parsed at Startup by Windows 95/98 Clients

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/158474/en-us - Windows TCP/IP Registry
Entries

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/122900/en-us - Can't Use Periods in DNS Host
Names

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/169790/en-us - How to Troubleshoot Basic
TCP/IP Problems

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/193878/en-us - TCP/IP Host Name Resolution
Takes a Long Time on PPTP Connection

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/242000/en-us - Windows 98 Clients Not
Registered with Dynamic DNS

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/210327/en-us - Manually Populating Network
Neighborhood with Static Entries for Browsing


General Search queries if the above links do not help:

http://support.microsoft.com/search/...osts+file&adv=

http://support.microsoft.com/search/...de=s&cat=False

If you still can't find the answer you need, then post back and we'll walk
through your network setups; and my old memory, saved info, and other
links...

--
MEB
http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com/
BLOG - http://peoplescounsel.spaces.live.com/ Public Notice or the "real
world"
http://groups.google.com/group/the-peoples-law?hl=en - discussion group for
general aspects of Law verses the Peoples' of the world

"Most people, sometime in their lives, stumble across truth.
Most jump up, brush themselves off, and hurry on about their business as if
nothing had happen." Winston Churchill
Or to put it another way:
Morpheus can offer you the two pills;
but only you can choose whether you take the red pill or the blue one.
_______________

Hi, MEB,

thank you very much for your help, I found my solution in

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/210327/en-us - Manually Populating
Network Neighborhood with Static Entries for Browsing

It's actually the first thing, which should have come to my mind -
just to create some windows shortcuts, which point to the static ip-s.

Greetings,
Ivo

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
| Hi, MEB,
|
| thank you very much for your help, I found my solution in
|
| http://support.microsoft.com/kb/210327/en-us - Manually Populating
| Network Neighborhood with Static Entries for Browsing
|
| It's actually the first thing, which should have come to my mind -
| just to create some windows shortcuts, which point to the static ip-s.
|
| Greetings,
| Ivo
|
|

Good, glad it helped. As for the should have thought of that, well we all
forget, I know I do.

Good luck.

--
MEB
http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com/
BLOG - http://peoplescounsel.spaces.live.com/ Public Notice or the "real
world"
http://groups.google.com/group/the-peoples-law?hl=en - discussion group for
general aspects of Law verses the Peoples' of the world

"Most people, sometime in their lives, stumble across truth.
Most jump up, brush themselves off, and hurry on about their business as if
nothing had happen." Winston Churchill
Or to put it another way:
Morpheus can offer you the two pills;
but only you can choose whether you take the red pill or the blue one.
_______________