Microsoft limits a NetBIOS name to be 15 characters in lenght and uses the
16th character as the NetBIOS suffix.
All NetBIOS names are 16 characters in length. The 16th character
identifies functionality installed on the registered device.
The following table lists the NetBIOS suffix in hexadecimal, otherwise
it would be unprintable:
Name Number(h) Type Usage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
<computername> 00 U Workstation Service
<computername> 01 U Messenger Service
<\\--__MSBROWSE__> 01 G Master Browser
<computername> 03 U Messenger Service
<computername> 06 U RAS Server Service
<computername> 1F U NetDDE Service
<computername> 20 U File Server Service
<computername> 21 U RAS Client Service
<computername> 22 U Microsoft Exchange Interchange(MSMail
Connector)
<computername> 23 U Microsoft Exchange Store
<computername> 24 U Microsoft Exchange Directory
<computername> 30 U Modem Sharing Server Service
<computername> 31 U Modem Sharing Client Service
<computername> 43 U SMS Clients Remote Control
<computername> 44 U SMS Administrators Remote Control
Tool
<computername> 45 U SMS Clients Remote Chat
<computername> 46 U SMS Clients Remote Transfer
<computername> 4C U DEC Pathworks TCPIP service on
Windows NT
<computername> 42 U mccaffee anti-virus
<computername> 52 U DEC Pathworks TCPIP service on
Windows NT
<computername> 87 U Microsoft Exchange MTA
<computername> 6A U Microsoft Exchange IMC
<computername> BE U Network Monitor Agent
<computername> BF U Network Monitor Application
<username> 03 U Messenger Service
<domain> 00 G Domain Name
<domain> 1B U Domain Master Browser
<domain> 1C G Domain Controllers
<domain> 1D U Master Browser
<domain> 1E G Browser Service Elections
<INet~Services> 1C G IIS
<IS~computer name> 00 U IIS
<computername> [2B] U Lotus Notes Server Service
IRISMULTICAST [2F] G Lotus Notes
IRISNAMESERVER [33] G Lotus Notes
Forte_$ND800ZA [20] U DCA IrmaLan Gateway Server Service
The
NetBIOS name types describe the functionality of the registration:
Unique (U): The name may have only one IP address assigned to it. On a
network device multiple occurrences of a single name may appear to be
registered. The suffix may be the only unique character in the name.
Group (G): A normal group; the single name may exist with many IP
addresses. WINS responds to a name query on a group name with the limited
broadcast address (255.255.255.255). Because routers block the
transmission of these addresses, the Internet Group was designed to
service communications between subnets.
Multihomed (M): The name is unique, but due to multiple network interfaces
on the same computer this configuration is necessary to permit the
registration. The maximum number of addresses is 25.
Internet Group (I): This is a special configuration of the group name used
to manage Windows NT Domain names.
Domain Name (D): New since Windows NT 4.0.
To use the NetBIOS suffix in an LMHOSTS entry, consider the following example:
<IP Address of Trusted PDC> <Trusted PDC Name> #PRE #DOM:<Trusted Domain Name>
<IP Address of Trusted PDC> "<Trusted Domain Name> \0x1b" #PRE
where the text within the quotes (") is exactly 20 characters. You can use the following template:
"123456789012345\0xss"
NOTE: see the following Knowledge Base articles:
Q119495 - List of Names Registered with WINS Service.
Q154608 - NETBIOS Node Status Query Returns First Instance of Uniqe Name.
Q129603 - Using Systems Management Server Remote Control over a RAS Server.