Support for Microsoft

Although there is no centralized method to determine if the browse list across a WAN is complete, there are techniques to determine if the servers on a particular segment are represented in the browse list on a remote segment. These same techniques can be applied on all segments throughout the WAN. However, the results of these tests can change if the roles of the servers change when browser elections occur. Only if all the servers in a domain throughout the WAN are completely static, and no servers come online or go offline, will the results of these tests have meaning over time.

The tests that are described below rely on the Browstat.exe utility from the Microsoft Windows Support Tools. Sample output will be for the TCP/IP protocol only. Also, as with most network problem diagnosis, to troubleshoot the browser service, the administrator must have full knowledge of the network segment boundaries and router configurations on the network. As an example, assume that a client on a remote segment does not have a server in its browse list that is located on another segment.