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AK47 0 Newbie Poster

I just installed a new file/backup server running on FC3 and I already had an FC2 system running DNS, DHCP, web, email, gateway, etc. I also have a Windows Server 2003 system running MSSQL 2000 for accounting software. The purpose of the FC3 backup server is to store all the important stuff from the other two servers, I would also like it to be a backup DNS and DHCP server, but that is another post. The problem is that the Windows Server 2003 system refuses to browse the network at all, I can manually type in a full network path to any other windows client on the network and I can browse that computer, but it won't even recognize that either of the Fedora servers exists! The FC2 server is the master browser on the network and in the 2003 server system event log, I get a couple of errors like:
"The browser service was unable to retrieve a list of servers from the browser master \\<fc2_server> on the network \Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{85E84FC7-57AC-4961-BCBB-F9A0D08E4275}."
and
"The browser service has failed to retrieve the backup list too many times on transport \Device\NetBT_Tcpip_{85E84FC7-57AC-4961-BCBB-F9A0D08E4275}. The backup browser is stopping."
In Windows I need to be able to map to a shared folder on the FC3 server. I tried setting up Samba and NFS shares on the FC3 server, but still no luck.
Any ideas why the 2003 server is having so much trouble, why it can't get a browse list from the FC2 server?? Did Microsoft purposely break communication between Windows 2003 and Linux?

By the way, I can ping any and all computers on the network, including the FC servers, from the 2003 server.

Thanks for the help!

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Dani AI

Generated

This is almost certainly a NetBIOS/browser issue, not a deliberate incompatibility. The Windows Browser mechanism depends on NetBIOS name services and broadcast/UDP traffic; since ICMP (ping) works, basic IP reachability is fine but the SMB/NetBIOS layer (nmbd/Samba, ports, NetBIOS settings, workgroup/WINS) is where the failure is happening. The event-log symptoms you described are the typical Windows-side complaint when it can’t talk NetBIOS/browser to the master.

Quick, ordered checks and useful commands:

On the Fedora boxes:
ps aux | egrep 'smbd|nmbd'
/etc/init.d/smb status
netstat -ln | egrep '137|138|139|445'
smbclient -L localhost -N
nmblookup -A <FC3-IP>
iptables -L -n

On the Windows 2003 server:
nbtstat -n
nbtstat -A <FC3-IP>
nbtstat -R
net view \\<FC3-IP>
(verify: Network Adapter → TCP/IP → Advanced → WINS → Enable NetBIOS over TCP/IP)

smb.conf items to verify (no verbatim copy of your configs — just check these concepts): the server is in the same workgroup, Samba’s nmbd is running and listening on the LAN interface, interfaces / bind interfaces only aren’t stopping announcements, and wins support / wins server are set appropriately for your network. Also confirm the Samba process is actually listening on ports 137/138/139/445.

Other important notes: NFS shares won’t appear in “Network Neighborhood” — Windows browsing only shows SMB/CIFS. SELinux and iptables on FC3 commonly block Samba traffic on Fedora; check /var/log/samba and audit logs. If servers are on different subnets, broadcasts won’t cross — use WINS or static LMHOSTS entries, or ensure the master browser is visible to all subnets. Adjusting Samba’s browser-related knobs (os level, preferred master) can help during testing but should be used cautiously.

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