How Records Change and Update

A WINS server always enters name registrations in its database in an active state and time stamped with the sum of the current time and the renewal interval. The version ID is taken from the version ID counter, and the counter is then incremented.

If a name is explicitly released or not refreshed during the renewal interval, the name enters the released state. The WINS server gives the database entry a time stamp using the sum of the current time and the extinction interval, and leaves the version ID unchanged. Thus, released records are not replicated. If a record remains released past the extinction interval, the WINS server changes the state of the record to tombstone, gives the record a time stamp using the sum of the current time and the extinction timeout, and increments the version ID of the record so that the record will be replicated. If a record remains in the tombstone state for a period longer than the extinction timeout, it is deleted from the database.

WINS replicates only records in the active and tombstone states. In the WINS database, WINS enters these replica records with the fields received from the owner database, with the exception of owner ID and time stamp. (The owner ID comes from the local IP address–to–owner ID mapping table because the value used locally to represent a particular WINS server differs from server to server. For example, WINS-D might be represented by a 2 on WINS-B and by a 3 on WINS-A.) WINS gives an active record a time stamp that is the sum of the local current time and the verification interval. WINS gives a tombstone record a time stamp that is the sum of the local current time and the extinction timeout.