The Network Basic Input/Output System (NetBIOS) is the
networking protocol
used by most Local Area Networks (LANs)
today.
It was created by IBM for its early PC Network, was adopted by
Microsoft, and has since become a de facto industry standard
since it is supported by most operating systems, including
&os2; and Microsoft Windows. Linux supports NetBIOS too with the
additional Samba software.
There are several major differences between &link_tcpip;
and NetBIOS, both from a system implementation view and the
way the user works with these protocols. This is because the two
protocols serve different purposes: TCP/IP can handle a global network
like the &link_internet;, while NetBIOS is the best performance
choice for communication within a single LAN. That is why, in most
computers, both protocols are installed.
- NetBIOS does not assign static numbered addresses to computers
in the network. Instead, every server in the network carries a name
and exports the resources it shares by name as well. As a result,
resources on the network are typically referenced by both server
and resource name.
- NetBIOS itself does not provide a transport mechanism.
Typically, NetBIOS uses NetBEUI as its transport mechanism, which
is automatically installed if you install the &os2; support for
NetBIOS. However, you can also choose to install
"NetBIOS over TCP/IP" to use TCP/IP as the transport mechanism.
- The operating system itself supports accessing networking
resources, automatically mapping standard file specifications to
remote computers. For example, you can assign a drive letter to
a NetBIOS name and access the resource by drive letter and file
name as if it was on your own system.
&os2; ships with the
&link_peer;
that, if installed, supports sharing resources with other computers
on your LAN and accessing other resources conveniently.