To enable Configuration Manager 2007 clients on the intranet to resolve the computer names of site systems to IP addresses, they can use either WINS or DNS. DNS is the recommended solution because it provides security features to help protect against name resolution attacks, and it provides a robust distributed service.
Most features in Configuration Manager can use either WINS or DNS for name resolution. However, in the following scenarios, you must use DNS for name resolution and cannot use WINS:
- Configuration Manager clients that are
managed on the Internet must use Internet DNS servers to resolve
fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) of Internet-based site systems
to public IP addresses. For more information about Internet-based
client management, see Overview of
Internet-Based Client Management.
- If the site is in mixed mode and clients are
in a different domain than the site server computer's domain, you
must configure the management point with a FQDN if you are using
the default approval option Automatically approve computers in
trusted domains (recommended). Clients will need DNS to resolve
this FQDN.
- If you are using the Configuration Manager
2007 SP1 out of band management feature, all name resolution
requires DNS and cannot use WINS. For more information about out of
band management, see Overview of Out of Band
Management.
Although you might be able to use a mixture of short names and FQDNs for site systems in Configuration Manager, adhering to a single naming system will greatly aid troubleshooting if clients experience connection issues.
WINS
If you are not using FQDNs for your site systems, WINS can be used to resolve short computer names (NetBIOS names) to IP addresses.
In addition to name resolution, WINS might be required for clients to find the following Configuration Manager services:
- Management points (default or network load
balanced)
- Server locator point
 Note |
|---|
| For more information about using WINS for locating management points and server locator points, see Configuration Manager and Service Location (Site Information and Management Points). |
Even if you are using short names for your site systems, you can still use DNS for name resolution if either of the following conditions is true:
- Your Configuration Manager hierarchy is
contained within a single domain.
- Your Configuration Manager hierarchy spans
multiple domains but all clients are configured with a DNS search
suffix so that a client in one domain can resolve a server name in
a different domain.
| Note |
|---|
| For more information about using WINS for locating management points, see Configuration Manager and Service Location (Site Information and Management Points). |
DNS
If you are using FQDNs for your site systems, DNS must be used to resolve the FQDN server names to IP addresses.
In addition to name resolution, DNS might be required for clients to find their default management point if Configuration Manager is configured to publish to DNS.
| Note |
|---|
| For more information about using DNS for locating a management point, see Configuration Manager and Service Location (Site Information and Management Points). |
See Also
Tasks
Configuring DNS for Configuration Manager Site System RolesHow to Manually Add Configuration Manager Site Information to WINS
Concepts
Determine If You Will Use FQDN Server NamesOverview of Internet-Based Client Management
Overview of Out of Band Management