A WINS server is like a DNS server, it's doing name resolution. Applications running on various computers on the network need to contact other computers, and may choose to do this by asking for the other computer(s) by name. WINS and DNS can translate names into recognisable (normally TCP/IP) addresses, that the networking software can then use to locate the target machine.
On the internet, DNS translates www.microsoft.com into 65.55.21.250 (for example) - WINS does a similar job, normally on contained networks like those found in businesses or schools.
On the internet, DNS translates www.microsoft.com into 65.55.21.250 (for example) - WINS does a similar job, normally on contained networks like those found in businesses or schools.
