Determining How Many WINS Servers to Deploy

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

The number of WINS servers needed and the locations of each server depend on the number of WINS clients per server and the network topology.

The number of users each server can support depends on usage patterns, data storage, and the processing capabilities of the server. A WINS server can typically register 1,500 names per minute or answer 4,500 queries per minute. This means that a single WINS server can adequately service up to 10,000 clients.

You might install additional WINS servers in locations separated by slow, or pay-by-usage wide area network (WAN) links. Set conservative client counts for a WINS server to minimize client query response times. Allow room in your design for peak-load conditions, such as large-scale power outages that force many computers to restart simultaneously, thereby bombarding the WINS servers with registration requests.