TABLE 6.1   Comparison of Name Resolution Schemes
Method	Advantages	Disadvantages
NetBIOS broadcasts	No administration involved.	Limited to local area. Not very network-friendly.
HOSTS files	Quick and efficient resolution. No dependence on the network.	Changing individual HOSTS files on many computers can be a tedious process.
LMHOSTS files	Centralized administration possible. Can be used to cache names and addresses of important servers in memory.	Propagating centralized LMHOSTS files can be tedious. Has potential security problems.
DNS	Distributed database of host names and addresses. Follows the Internet standards.	Problematic with dynamic configuration of IP addresses because each name and IP address must be entered manually on the DNS server. Additions and changes can create problems.
WINS	Distributed database of computer names and addresses. Automatic name registration. Unlike DNS, names and addresses don’t have do be entered manually.	Works only with Windows computers. New solutions like Services for Unix from AT&T and Project Cascade from Sun are bringing this to Unix environments.
Dynamic DNS	Automatic registration of host names by interacting with DHCP servers.	Fairly new. Improved in Windows 2000 Server. NT 4.0 support through third-party software.