The HOSTS File

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The HOSTS File

Because you are looking at NetBIOS name resolution, including the HOSTS file here might seem out of place. The HOSTS file is primarily associated with host name resolution. However, Windows NT uses the HOSTS file if all other methods of NetBIOS name resolution fail.

Host names are the TCP/IP names given to the computer. Usually, the host name is the same as the NetBIOS name (without the 16th character). However, it does not have to be. The host name may also include the Internet domain name; these parts together are the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN). The host name can be any length. For example, thisisawebserver.mycorp.com is a valid FQDN; however, it is not a valid NetBIOS name. (More on this in Chapter 12, “Domain Name System.”)

The HOSTS file that is located in the \%winroot%\system32\ drivers\etc directory is similar in makeup to the LMHOSTS file discussed earlier. The difference is that the HOSTS file is simpler in the following ways:

No tags are in the HOSTS file.
You can associate more than one name with a host by entering all the names on the same line, separated by spaces.

A sample HOSTS file might look like the following:

160.16.5.3 www www.scrimtech.com # corporate web server
38.25.63.10 www.NTworld.com # NT associate page
127.0.0.1 localhost

As noted, the first entry resolves www as well as www.scrimtech.com to the IP address 160.16.5.3. You may have noticed the # signs. These indicate comments in the HOSTS file that are always placed at the end of the line.

The entry for localhost at 127.0.0.1 is a default entry that Windows NT adds. This enables you to ping your computer by name to ensure the HOSTS file is working. (Ping is discussed in detail in Chapter 14, “Connectivity in Heterogeneous Environments.”)

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