1001 Secrets for Windows NT Registry
(Publisher: 29th Street Press)
Author(s): Tim Daniels
ISBN: 1882419685
Publication Date: 12/01/97

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I-381 In addition to Microsoft extensions to NetBIOS, additional parameters can help improve network performance and work with either standard Novell NetBIOS or NWNBLink (Microsoft Extensions to Novell NetBIOS.) Here are a few of these parameters.

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NWNBLink\ Parameters
Value Name: BroadcastTimeout
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1

This value is the interval, in 500-millisecond increments, that Windows NT waits between sending find-name requests. Depending on the speed and congestion of your network, you may want to increase the value to decrease overall network broadcasts.

I-382 Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NWNBLink\ Parameters
Value Name: BroadcastCount
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 3

Use this value to determine the number of times a particular broadcast is sent. Increasing this value could result in congested networks; however, certain slower links may require it.

I-383 Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NWNBLink\ Parameters
Value Name: Internet
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 1

This value alters the behavior of broadcast packets the NWNBLink protocol sends. If the value is 1, NWNBLink uses Novell-style WAN broadcasts. If you are using the BroadcastCount or BroadcastTimeout registry values, you must set this parameter to 0.

I-384 The next two values determine how Windows NT handles connection probes. The initiator of a session sends connection probes when a remote connection to a machine fails. Adjust these parameters according to your network speed and congestion.

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NWNBLink\ Parameters
Value Name: ConnectionCount
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 5

This value sets the total number of times that Windows NT sends a connection probe. The default is 5; valid values range from 1 to 65,535.

I-385 Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NWNBLink\ Parameters
Value Name: ConnectionTimeout
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 5

This value dictates how long Windows NT waits between sending connection probes. The default is five 500-millisecond intervals, or 2.5 seconds. Changing this parameter can affect overall network congestion.

I-386 Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NWNBLink\ Parameters
Value Name: InitialRetransmissionTime
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 2

This value is used in conjunction with the RetransmitMax parameter, below. Changing this value can greatly reduce the amount of traffic on your network by delaying the interval that a sender waits before resending data. The default value (in 500-millisecond intervals) is 1; change it to 2 to reduce traffic.

I-387 Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NWNBLink\ Parameters
Value Name: RetransmitMax
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 8

This value governs how many times a computer retransmits data before it treats the network path as a bad path. As you can imagine, a slow link requires more time than a faster one. You can tune this value accordingly.

I-388 If you have applications that use keep-alive packets, these two registry entries can give you some measure of control over how often NWNBLink sends this type of traffic over your servers and workstations. Fine-tuning this parameter helps reduce network congestion. Using these two values in tandem really helps you control keep-alive traffic.

Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NWNBLink\ Parameters
Value Name: KeepAliveCount
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 8

This value determines how many times a session-alive frame is sent before the initiator gives up on the receiving computer.

I-389 Hive: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Key: System\CurrentControlSet\Services\NWNBLink\Parameters
Value Name: KeepAliveTimeout
Data Type: REG_DWORD
Value: 60

This registry value is very important. It determines how often session-alive frames are sent. The value is the number of 500-millisecond blocks it waits before sending a new session-alive frame.


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