A Made IT project
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A Made IT projecthttp://www.made-it.com info@made-it.com |
Introduction
The Microsoft Windows versions and IBMs OS/2 versions use a network protocol called NetBIOS/ NetBEUI. Those terms stand for:
The protocols are designed by IBM and Microsoft for small LANs. Since these protocols are non-routable, they are not suitable for Wide Area Networks.
OSI reference
Compared to the OSI reference model a NetBIOS/ NetBEUI network looks like this:
| Layer | Protocol |
|---|---|
| 7 | Redirector |
| 6 | SMB |
| 5 | NetBIOS |
| 4 | NetBEUI |
| 3 | NetBEUI |
| 2 | NIC driver + NDIS |
| 1 | NIC (Network Interface Card) |
Redirector
The redirector is responsible for directing network requests to network servers and making sure that local commands go to the local operating system.
SMB
SMB stands for Server Message Block and is responsible for the enabling of file and printer sharing and the sharing of serial ports over a LAN. It also handles user-based messaging.
SMB is a client/ server protocol, meaning it uses request/ response queries. A request coming from a client and the response coming from the server. SMB is only responsible for the sharing, not the actual transport so SMB can be used over NetBIOS/ NetBEUI or NetBIOS/ TCP/IP or IPX/SPX. Ofcourse other combinations are possible, but these are the most common.
NetBIOS
NetBIOS sets up and maintains connections. It is a non-routable protocol. NetBIOS uses broadcasts to spread information about servers.
NetBIOS supports 3 services:
NetBEUI
NetBEUI is the protocol that is responsible for data transport. Does handle all the frame formatting that is not handled by NetBIOS.
NDIS
NDIS stands for Network Driver Interface Specification and the actual details are beyond the scope of this document.
General