Maintaining the WINS database

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 8 Beta

Maintaining the WINS database

The WINS console provides tools for maintaining the WINS server database. For example, you can use the WINS console to back up and restore WINS server database files. This should be done periodically in a way that is similar to other backup operations that are planned and used for saving files on a server computer.

Scavenging and compaction are additional maintenance operations that can be used selectively to help reduce database size and reclaim disk space that is no longer used by the database. Dynamic compaction is performed automatically by WINS at periodic intervals; manual compaction is not generally necessary.

Backing up the database

The WINS console provides its own backup feature for backing up the WINS server database during normal operation. After you specify a backup directory for the database, WINS performs complete database backups every twenty four hours, by default.

You should also periodically back up the registry entries for the WINS server.

Scavenging the database

Scavenging the WINS server database is the process of deleting and removing obsolete information that remains after changes occur. Like any database, the WINS server database of address mappings needs to be periodically scavenged and backed up.

The local WINS server database sometimes retains both released and old entries that were registered at another WINS server (and replicated to the local WINS server). Automatic scavenging takes place at intervals defined by the relationship between the Renewal and Extinct intervals you define. You can also manually clean the database.

The following table describes the results of scavenging the WINS database for a WINS server. The first column shows the record criteria and state of any database entries before scavenging is started. The second column indicates the state of the same entries after the scavenging process.

Entry state before scavenging	Entry state after scavenging
Active names owned by this WINS server for which the Renew Interval has expired	Marked as Released.
Released names owned by this WINS server for which the Extinction interval has expired	Marked as Tombstoned.
Tombstoned names for which the Extinction timeout has expired	Deleted and removed from the database.
Tombstoned names, replicated from other servers for which the Extinction timeout has expired	Deleted and removed from the database.
Active names replicated from other servers for which the Verification interval has expired	Revalidated.
Tombstoned or deleted names replicated from other servers	Removed from the database.