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.

&os2; ships with the &link_peer; that, if installed, supports sharing resources with other computers on your LAN and accessing other resources conveniently.