[pptp-server] Poptop and Windows clients

Tue Oct 17 16:46:58 CDT 2000

Chris,

The options you list are all viable options - you should be able to get it
to work with or without a WINS server.

The hosts and lmhosts files are used just for name resolution.  When you
have these files set up properly, you can access "\\machinename\sharename"
without having to use WINS.  These files do not affect browsing, so browsing
may still fail even if you have hosts and lmhosts properly set up.

To get browsing without WINS, you need a samba server (which maintains
browse lists) running on the same machine as pptpd, and accessible from the
VPN machine.  The VPN machines will then be able to get the browse list off
of that samba server.

To use a WINS server, either on the pptpd machine or on another machine, ALL
machines on your network must be configured to use the same WINS server,
because the WINS server will only know about machines that are using WINS.

Using a WINS server to do the name resolution can significantly slow down
the name resolution, especially when the WINS servers is on the other end of
a slow network connection.  If you don't use a WINS server, and instead put
the names/ip addresses in the hosts/lmhosts files, the name resolution is
done from local files, so the name resolution is much faster.

You can have both WINS and lmhosts, but Windows will always try WINS first,
and if that fails, will look in the lmhosts file, so if you have both you
will still have slow name resolution.  (This is the opposite of the way DNS
works--DNS looks in hosts first, then checks with the DNS server.  Microsoft
always likes to do things different!)  To get faster name resolution you
must remove the WINS server configuration from your VPN client, and only use
hosts and lmhosts files.

Another thing to consider is that typically you have to wait a little while
after connecting the VPN before you can browse the network neighborhood.  If
you wait 30 to 60 seconds before trying to browse the network, then it
should work.  I think this confuses many people because they try to browse
the network immediately after connecting the VPN, and after if fails on the
first try they assume it isn't working.

Here is a Microsoft article about how name resolution works:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q119/4/93.asp

Phil

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chris Carella [mailto:drjchris at yahoo.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2000 3:16 PM
> To: Philip Van Baren
> Subject: RE: [pptp-server] Poptop and Windows clients
>
>
> I've read through various messages on the list and I
> have a question.
>
> The VPN connects fine, but there is no browsing
> abilities in the network neighborhood, and the initial
> name resolution to connect to a share takes about 2
> minutes (way to long).. to fix this which of the
> following will work (can someone explain why the other
> won't work).
>
> 1) Set up a Samba Wins Server on the PPTPD server
>
> 2) Use an exsisting Wins Server on the NT Network
>
> 3) Put every machine in the clients lmhosts and hosts
> file
>
> 4) configure the samba box to maintain browse lists
> (and it actually does this properly: check if the
>  /var/lock/samba/browse.dat file contains a list of
> all of your machines
>
> Thanks,
> Christopher Carella
>
>
>
> --- Philip Van Baren <phil at vibrationresearch.com>
> wrote:
> > Others have said WINS, but I'll give an alternate
> > answer:
> >
> > If you list the IP numbers and host names of all of
> > your windows PCs in the
> > c:\windows\hosts AND c:\windows\lmhosts files on the
> > Win9x VPN client PCs
> > (in the winnt\system32\drivers\etc directory on
> > WinNT machines), they will
> > be able to access the windows PC shares without
> > using WINS.
> >
> > Also, if you configure the samba box to maintain
> > browse lists (and it
> > actually does this properly: check if the
> > /var/lock/samba/browse.dat file
> > contains a list of all of your machines) then the
> > machines will also appear
> > in Network Neighborhood, again without using WINS.
> >
> > Phil
> >
> >
> >
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: pptp-server-admin at lists.schulte.org
> > > [mailto:pptp-server-admin at lists.schulte.org]On
> > Behalf Of Peter Alliett
> > > Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2000 8:31 AM
> > > To: pptp-server at lists.schulte.org
> > > Subject: [pptp-server] Poptop and Windows clients
> > >
> > >
> > > I have poptop and samba on the same linux box but
> > when windows
> > > clients dial
> > > in they can only access the windows share pc's by
> > putting in the
> > > IP address.
> > > Also nothing shows up in Network Neighbourhood.
> > What am I missing here.
> > >
> > > Peter
> > >
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