Hi, I have a small domain spanned across two different subnets. Each subnet has its own domain controller, and the two networks are linked via IP routing. Network connectivity between the two subnets is good - replication between the two DCs is happening smoothly, and every workstation can access every other workstation regardless of which subnet they're on. The problem is that network browsing doesn't seem to work across the subnets. If a user knows the name of the machine they're connecting to, then they can enter that name into Explorer's address bar and it will connect fine. But when they go to "Network" or "My Network Places", only the machines from their own subnet appear there. When a user goes to "My Network Places" (or just "Network" in Win7's Explorer) then I would like them to see all the machines on both subnets, not just their own subnet. Both DCs are running Server 2008 R2. What do I need to do to get network/computer browsing to work across the two subnets?

To resolve the following please check the following 1) Please make it sure that you have defined the correct subnets in the active directory sites and services. 2) set the Computer Browser service to Automatic on the DC holding the PDC role. 3) check the File and Printer sharing on the network card bindings other wise computer browser will fail. 4) In a multiple subnet environment, make sure WINS is configured properly so that you have the proper NetBIOS name resolution. After making the corrections, the computers holding the master browser roles will begin to populate the browse list for the entire network. http://www.arabitpro.com

To resolve the following please check the following 1) Please make it sure that you have defined the correct subnets in the active directory sites and services. 2) set the Computer Browser service to Automatic on the DC holding the PDC role. 3) check the File and Printer sharing on the network card bindings other wise computer browser will fail. 4) In a multiple subnet environment, make sure WINS is configured properly so that you have the proper NetBIOS name resolution. After making the corrections, the computers holding the master browser roles will begin to populate the browse list for the entire network. http://www.arabitpro.com

Okay, I've done 1) and 2). File and Printer sharing was already turned on. How long do I have to wait before I can expect everything to have propagated and updated properly? And for 4), I'm not using WINS. I'd heard that it was an obsolete technology - I have DNS installed on both DCs and name resolution seems to work fine. Is WINS really necessary?

Hi, Thank you for the post. Is WINS really necessary? Yes. NetBIOS resolution across subnets depend on WINS server. Summary of WINS Benefits WINS enables the Computer Browser service to collect and distribute browse lists across IP routers. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc784180(WS.10).aspx In a multiple subnet environment, make sure WINS is configured properly so that you have the proper NetBIOS name resolution. http://blogs.technet.com/b/networking/archive/2008/07/25/netbios-browsing-across-subnets-may-fail-after-upgrading-to-windows-server-2008.aspx If there are more inquiries on this issue, please feel free to let us know. RegardsRick Tan TechNet Community Support

Hi, Thank you for the post. Is WINS really necessary? Yes. NetBIOS resolution across subnets depend on WINS server. Summary of WINS Benefits WINS enables the Computer Browser service to collect and distribute browse lists across IP routers. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc784180(WS.10).aspx In a multiple subnet environment, make sure WINS is configured properly so that you have the proper NetBIOS name resolution. http://blogs.technet.com/b/networking/archive/2008/07/25/netbios-browsing-across-subnets-may-fail-after-upgrading-to-windows-server-2008.aspx If there are more inquiries on this issue, please feel free to let us know. RegardsRick Tan TechNet Community Support

Thanks for the replies everyone. It seems that I've been able to get this working without having to install WINS. Apparently all you need to do is enable the Computer Browser service on every DC. By default, the service is disabled. Once you do that, the DC becomes the Master Browser for that subnet. The PDC then collects the browse lists from each individual DC and merges them, which then allows any computer on the network to see all machines in all subnets. Thanks!

Thanks for the replies everyone. It seems that I've been able to get this working without having to install WINS. Apparently all you need to do is enable the Computer Browser service on every DC. By default, the service is disabled. Once you do that, the DC becomes the Master Browser for that subnet. The PDC then collects the browse lists from each individual DC and merges them, which then allows any computer on the network to see all machines in all subnets. Thanks!