Nortel Networks NN46110-602 manual Can I control which machine is the master browser?

86 Chapter 4 Troubleshooting

In the WINS mappings entry, enter a show database command. Note the entry for -__MSBROWSE__. This is the machine that is actually the elected master browser, and it changes frequently. If this entry is pointing to an invalid machine, it can cause problems.

Can I control which machine is the master browser?

When you start a computer running Windows NT Workstation or Windows NT Server, the browser service looks in the registry for the configuration parameter MaintainServerList to determine whether a computer becomes a browser. This parameter is under:

\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\ Parameters

For Windows 95, this parameter is under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VNETSUP\ MaintainServerList

MaintainServerList parameter values are:

•No—this computer can never participate as a browser.

•Yes—this computer can become a browser.

•Auto—this computer, referred to as a potential browser, can or cannot become a browser, depending on the number of currently active browsers.

The registry parameter IsDomainMasterBrowser impacts which servers become master browsers and backup browsers. The registry path for this parameter is:

\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Browser\ Parameters.

Setting the IsDomainMasterBrowser parameter entry to True or Yes makes the computer a preferred master browser.

When the browser service is started on the preferred master browser computer, the browser service forces an election. Preferred master browsers are given priority in elections, which means that if no other condition prevents it, the preferred master browser always wins the election. This gives an administrator the ability to configure a specific computer as the master browser.

NN46110-602