working with Windows networks from Ubuntu

hostname resolution doesn’t get offered out of the box. you’ll need to apt-get install winbind and update /etc/nsswitch.conf to include “wins” in the “hosts” declaration.

hosts: files dns wins

after that you’re good to go. ping and use windows computernames freely and scoff at any linux users who insist running netbios/wins/lmhosts is a dead way of communicating between computers. I will happily function effectively within companies that still use it.