What is the difference between WINS and DNS?

WINS means Windows Internet Name Service. DNS means Domain Name System. WINS is generally used for gadgets that are powered by Windows while DNS is usually used for the Domain Name System. The primary purpose of WINS is to make sure that some issues will be resolved such as the NetBIOS name of the available IP addresses.

DNS will make sure that the hostnames will be resolved to IP addresses. WINS will not be able to support TCP and IP application services while DNS can be used for the TCP and application services. The choices that you make will be entirely dependent on the applications that you are planning to use.

WINS stands for Windows Internet Name Service. WINS is a part of Microsoft network topology. It is specific for Windows based devices such as Laptops, desktops or NT devices. WINS is a name resolution service. It works to map hostname to its network IP addresses. WINS is platform dependent. It converts NetBIOS names to IP addresses on LAN or WAN.

On the other hand, DNS stands for Domain Name System. DNS is platform independent. DNS is also a name resolution service. It works by translating host name to IP addresses. There is no need to convert NetBIOS name to IP address on LAN or WAN. DNS has now replaced the use of WINS.

A WINS server is a Windows Internet name service, and a DNS server is a domain name service. WINS is based explicitly on Windows regular PCs and laptops, and DNS is mainly for network devices like for offices, and corporations.

All computers have IP addresses, and the DNS system is used primarily for what they call static IP addresses where they always remain the same, whereas WINS IP addresses, which are called dynamic, change regularly. The DNS server is a computer that has a database that has a list of all public IP addresses and when you want to go to a specific site the DNS server searches for that IP address so you can navigate there.

WINS is the acronym for Windows Internet Name Service, while DNS is the acronym for Domain name system. There are some differences between WINS and DNS. WINS is a service that is concerned about changing IP address, it is usually present in devices that have Windows operating system. And this means, WINS does not stand on its own because it will first have to depend on Windows.

Whereas, DNS is majorly a system for network devices and it is used for IP address that does not change, unlike what we have WINS. DNS operates on its own without having to depend on any operating system. Another thing is, while WINS supports IP addresses like DHCP, DNS does not support it. Finally, WINS is developed to give details about NetBIOS names to IP addresses, DNS does not support that, but rather resolves host names to IP addresses.