Windows Internet Name Service

Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) is a Microsoft name resolution service, introduced in 1994 with Windows NT 3.5, for translating NetBIOS names to IP addresses. NetBIOS names are an older naming convention used for local name resolution before DNS became ubiquitous. WINS is mostly unnecessary for modern networks unless legacy systems require it. The rise of DNS, especially through Microsoft's Active Directory service's DNS support, made WINS effectively obsolete by the mid-2000s. Microsoft documentation advises not to use WINS on networks not requiring it.^[1]