Re: NetBEUI: what's it good for?

From: Dick Kistler (dickkist_at_Remove-hotmail.com)
Date: 08/13/04 

Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2004 09:01:04 -0400

"Bob Willard" <BobwBSGS@TrashThis.comcast.net> wrote in message
news:OvVp4%23SgEHA.556@tk2msftngp13.phx.gbl...
> Gary Roach wrote:
>
>> I've tried in vain to get NetBEUI for XP to work. I've got old clients
>> that
>> still use it but I can't get the NetBEUI that comes with XP to work with
>> them. In fact, I can't get NetBEUI to work between two XP machines! I've
>> got
>> both NetBEUI and NetBIOS/IPX compatable protocol installed on both
>> machines
>> and I've moved them to different TCP/IP subnets and they don't talk.
>> what's
>> NetBEUI good for? thanks for any help,
>>
>> gary
>>
>
> Gee, it worked fine for me on my mixed XP-W9x LAN. {I've since
> moved to pure TCP/IP.}
>
> In the folder with the NetBEUI stuff on the the XP CD, you will find
> a .TXT file with instructions on how to install NetBEUI. You *must*
> follow those instructions exactly, or it will seem that NetBEUI is
> installed, but it will be crippled.
> --
> Cheers, Bob
>

NetBEUI is an old(read 80's) protocol that was used on LAN's
before interest increased in the internet. If you were on a lan
in the 80's and didn't use Netware(or some other proprietary
protocol) you could have used NetBEUI. It is a Microsoft
development.

Pretty much all Microsoft OSes support NetBEUI(even MSDOS).
It is not supported in Windows XP, but is included on the XP distribution
disk. I don't think that Unixes support it.

NetBEUI is useful in any situation in which you need a simple
protocol and don't need to connect to the internet. It seems to
work best on wired networks. At least some(maybe all) wireless
routers are designed so that it won't work wirelessly.

It is apparently inefficient on large networks because it has a great
deal of polling overhead. It is also not routable.

It is possible to use it on a wired network as a second protocol for
file and printer sharing, and not use TCP/IP for that function.
This would seem to give a little greater security because it is not
the same protocol as the internet communications protocol and
because it is not routable.

Microsoft says that you don't need it, that you only need TCP/IP
and good firewall, and that a second protocol causes more problems
than it solves. Clearly, they don't support NetBEUI any more.
And since they developed it, they can do what they want with it.
There are others that think Microsoft is nuts on this point.
http://www.ezlan.net/netbeui.html is one. This seems to be an
almost religious issue for some.

My guess is that the jury is still out, but that NetBEUI won't be in
the next version of Windows, regardless of the number of legacy
systems that are still out there that still use it.

For you're application, if you don't use it, uninstall it. Also
uninstall NWLink(IPX/SPX) if you aren't using it.
Simpler is better.

*** Kistler