Blasts from the pasts are often fun, and in the case of feature removals from Windows, it’s often accompanied by surprise that the feature in question still existed. Case in point:
This article provides essential information about the deprecation and planned removal of Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) from future Windows Server releases. Microsoft has announced that WINS will be removed from all Windows Server releases after Windows Server 2025 and will remain under the standard support lifecycle through November 2034. Organizations using WINS are strongly encouraged to migrate to modern DNS-based name resolution solutions.
↫ Microsoft knowledge base article
WINS was introduced with Windows NT 3.5 back in 1994, and maps NetBIOS to IP addresses in much the same way DNS maps domains names to IP addresses. Nobody should be using WINS anymore, and Microsoft has been discouraging its use for a long time now. With the ubiquity of DNS, WINS serves very little purpose, so it makes sense Microsoft is removing it from Windows.
Yes, it is good to see things supported for decades even after they are completely surpassed technologically.
WINS is not a “dynamic” service like NetBIOS broadcasts. It uses a local centralized server (like DNS). And we already have AD domains to do that.
(And even for local Multicast (mDNS) mostly surpassed NetBIOS, but that is not always reliable)
Ah, WINS. We knew thee well, you psycho little piece of lunacy.
If you want to see an old MCSE suffer from an anxiety attack due to PTSD, just lean over and whisper “tombstoned entry!”
Now Microsoft should stop using NetBIOS names in the login screen, network (UNC) routes, and computer names in the network browser.
This is okay, because Microsoft can’t score any wins lately anyway.