NetBIOS Name Cache

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NetBIOS Name Cache

The NetBIOS Name Cache is an area of memory containing a list of NetBIOS computer names and the associated IP address. An address in the Name Cache can get there in one of two ways: you have resolved that address or the address was preloaded from the LMHOSTS file (see “The LMHOSTS File”). The Name Cache provides a quick reference to frequently used IP addresses.

The NetBIOS Name Cache, however, cannot keep every address on your network. The cache (like ARP) only keeps entries for a short period of time—ten minutes by default. The exceptions are preloaded entries, which remain in cache.

You cannot directly modify the NetBIOS Name Cache. However, you can add preloaded entries in the LMHOSTS file. If you do this (or if you want to clear the Name Cache), use nbtstat -R. This purges and reloads the Name Cache. If you want to view the resolved names, you can use nbtstat -r (the switches for nbtstat are, as you might have guessed, case sensitive).

A couple of registry entries affect the way the Name Cache works. The entries are found under the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT\Parameters

The entries are as follows:

Size: Small/Medium/Large. The number of names kept in the Name Cache. The settings are Small (1—maintains only 16 names), Medium (2—maintains 64 names), and Large (3—maintains 128 names). The default is 1, which is sufficient for most client stations.
CacheTimeout. The time in milliseconds that an entry remains in cache. The default is 927c0 (hex) or 600,000, which is ten minutes.

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