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I'm doing research on the LMHOSTS file. Can anyone tell me when I would want to use the LMHOST file?

xpkiro
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    Pretty much never. A good follow up question is "why does Windows still have an lmhosts file?" – Todd Wilcox Jul 30 '15 at 15:19
  • In 20+ years as an IT guy in Windows networks, I have never used the LMHOST file. Even back in the Windows For Workgroups days. – Mr. Smythe Jul 30 '15 at 16:04
  • It can (used to) be useful for overriding central name resolution and for troubleshooting, much as the hosts file can be used today. I was surprised to actually find this useful about two years back in a now uncommon setup, which I certainly wasn't anticipating. – ErikE Jul 30 '15 at 16:16

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I don't think you would run into the LMHOSTS file these days. It is (was) used for name to ip and name to service resolution in the days of NetBIOS.

LMHOSTS is in function similar to the hosts file but also, as said, can map services unlike the hosts file. The syntax differs and is exemplified in the default LMHOSTS file.

Just as the hosts file was largely obsoleted by DNS for centralised reolution, LMHOSTS was obsoleted by the WINS client/server system for NetBIOS. Both files remain as arcane and on the rare occasion useful name resolution mechanisms.

An interesting tidbit is the order of name resolution in a system, given that there are several possible mechanisms - hosts, dns, lmhosts, wins. This order is decided by the so called node type, which can be set manually if neccessary.

As NetBIOS (unlike DNS which has seen a new dawn) has been deprecated by Microsoft this is hardly useful information to a sysadmin these days, so I won't do the legwork of providing reference links. The internet is full of information so google to your hearts content.

My personal little guess is that the LMHOSTS file will disappear at the same time NetBIOS is fully removed by Microsoft from the Windows system. As long as NetBIOS is still configurable (although deprecated), we may find LMHOSTS lingering around.

ErikE
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