The Order That WINS Returns 1Ch Entries

This article explains how a Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) server returns 1C entries to clients.

When a query is made to a Windows NT WINS server for a domain controller (DC), that query is made as a request for a group 1Ch entry. The WINS server then replies with up to 25 IP addresses of domain controllers for the queried domain. In the reply, addresses owned by the queried WINS Server are returned first, sorted by registration date and time. The first entry in the list will be the one locally owned that matches the 1B entry. These are followed by addresses for the requested domain that are not owned by the queried server.

WINS differentiates the domain controller entries according to whether they are local or remote. A domain controller that is local to the WINS server in question is determined by ownership. If that WINS server owns the record for that domain controller, that domain controller is local in the Domain 1C list. Any domain controller record that is owned by another WINS server is remote. If the Domain 1C list is full, new domain controller registrations can be added, but older entries in the list are removed as required on a first-in first-out basis. However, local domain controller records take precedence. For this reason, if the list is full of local domain controller records, a remote domain controller is never added to the list. A registration of a local domain controller can always be added to the list. However, if the list is full, a remote domain controller can only replace another (older) remote domain controller. You can change whether or not a domain controller is considered local or remote by using the MemberPrecedence registry setting that is described in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article: