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is NetBEUI Necessary

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11 replies

by k4k

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I've been installing Microsoft LANs for about 15 years. I've always installed the NetBEUI protocol.
It is the fastest protocol for small LANs and helps identify nodes and shares on the LAN for network
neighborhood. However, I know that NetBEUI sends periodic broadcasts to the other nodes letting them
all know it's computer name and shares available. Recently, I had a 3 computer network that was working
fine but having some internet perfromance problem. Since the internet equipment was not mine, another
tech was called in. During his repair, he removed my NetBEUI on the 3 computers indicating that they
were flooding the network with broadcasts. He said using TCP/IP by itself was superior. Here's my
question, and I needfacts not opinions. Just how much does NetBEUI flood the network with broadcasts,
and is it enough to be concerned with? Doesn't the fact it's a fast protocol offset the time for these
broadcasts? How many computers on the network can be considered "too many" where NetBEUI broadcasts
are concerned. NetBEUI can't be routed, but doesn't need to be in small LANs. Are there any disadvantages
to using NetBEUI over a pure TCP/IP LAN? Are there any disadvantages to using only TCP/IP in asmall
LAN? Basically, I need to know the good and bad about NetBEUI with today's networks. And again, I
prefer facts not opinions. Thanks in advance.

11 replies

by harold.smit

Netbeui is defenitly not neccecary anymore, TCP/IP has everything that Netbeui use to have, the only disadvantages I can think of are broadcasts (you said it already)and the most important one is security, Netbeui is not secure on the internet, it helps identify shares and nodes but also for al those hackers outthere.
I work with small buisness LAN's and stopped using Netbeui 2 years ago.

by brian

When a machine has more than one protocol installed, it sends packets via each protocol. The transmissions are sent in the order the protocols are listed in the bindings. More protocols means more transmitting and slows down the access to the resource. In small Lan netbui will locate local resources fastest and escpecially if it is the only protocol. Obviously you can't operate on the internet without TCP/IP. If TCP/IP is the only protocol web resources will be accessed most quickly since there are no extra transmissions. The extra transmissions also jamm up the network so for many networks, I agree that you are better off without Netbui.

by joshg

You only need to use one protocol for your network. TCP/IP is the fastest and most robust, and is the standard for Internet communication. NetBeui is a good protocol for small LANs but is not routable. NetBeui is much easier to setup that TCP/IP but TCP/IP will give you all the same features and more without the brodcasts.

The best thing to do is use one protocol on your LAN, so choose TCP/IP so you won't have to change things later should the netowrk grow.

by nettek

You are correct that NetBEUI is the fastest and most effecient protocol for small LANs. It was originally designed by IBM for use on small LANs of up to 200 nodes, at a time when TCP/IP was used only for WANS and when most small networks were not connected to the Internet.

However, nowadays quite a few small networks have Internet connectivity. In a situation where TCP/IP is required on a LAN (direct connectivity to the Internet, for example), having multiple protocols can actual degrade performance. By design, every protocol running on an MS machine requires its own area of memory, uses processor time, and maintains a separate browse list. While I doubt there is a performance issue of a handful of PCs in a peer-to-peer, it becomes anissue when you have a 40 node network with a couple of servers. Nodes must listen to multiple protocols and maintain seperate browse lists. Protocols compete for network bandwidth, memory, and processor time. The TCP/IP stack ends up dropping more packets, browse lists become incomplete, and you end up with more "unable to locate..." messages.

If you have a standalone network with up to 200 nodes and only a single protocol is required, go with NetBEUI. If TCP/IP is required on the network, use only TCP/IP, as adding NetBEUI will only degrade performance.

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