On 7/15/2024 8:50 AM, Mickey D wrote:
Today at the right of my Windows display it asked me if I wanted to be discoverable and it recommended it for home networks.
I don't normally communicate PC to PC at home (as I just yell across the
hall from my PC to my wife's PC if I need to communicate with her, and my kids, on their laptops, would ignore me even if I were bleeding out), so
what gives with being discoverable?
What's the advantage/disadvantage of being discoverable?
I'm not a network guru but maybe if I try I can do the basics.
Copilot Question:
In Windows 10, when you make the network Discoverable, what changes in Ports and Protocols does that make ?
For example, Function Discovery Resource publication services.
Copilot Answer
When you make your network **discoverable** in Windows 10, several changes occur in terms of
ports and protocols to facilitate network discovery and resource sharing. Here are the key changes:
[ Opening ports, enabling services behind the port... ]
1. **Network Discovery**:
- **Network Discovery** is a network setting that affects whether your computer can see
(and be seen by) other devices on the network.
- When enabled, it allows your computer to find other devices and be found by others.
2. **Function Discovery Resource Publication (FDResPub)**:
- This service publishes the computer and its resources so they can be discovered over the network.
- It uses the **Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP)** and **Web Services Discovery (WS-Discovery)** protocols.
- **Ports**: Typically,
SSDP uses **UDP port 1900**
WS-Discovery uses **UDP port 3702**.
3. **File and Printer Sharing**:
- When network discovery is enabled, **File and Printer Sharing** is also typically enabled.
- This allows other devices on the network to access shared files and printers.
- **Ports**:
File and Printer Sharing uses **TCP ports 139 and 445** [ Need to be port forwarded
**UDP ports 137 and 138**. in your router, to be seen oh Internet ]
4. **Network Profile**:
- Changing the network profile to **Private** makes your computer discoverable.
- This setting is crucial for enabling network discovery and resource sharing.
5. **Advanced Sharing Settings**:
- You can configure these settings in the **Network and Sharing Center** under **Advanced sharing settings**.
- Ensure that **Turn on network discovery** and **Turn on file and printer sharing** are selected.
In summary, making your network discoverable in Windows 10 involves enabling network discovery
and related services, which in turn opens specific ports and uses certain protocols to facilitate
communication and resource sharing on the network¹²³.
Source: Conversation with Copilot, 7/15/2024
(1) How to configure network discovery on Windows 10.
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-configure-network-discovery-windows-10-0
(2) How to Enable Network Discovery and Configure Sharing Options in Windows 10.
https://www.dummies.com/article/technology/computers/operating-systems/windows/windows-10/how-to-enable-network-discovery-and-configure-sharing-options-in-windows-10-140265/
(3) What Is Network Discovery on Windows 10? How to Turn It On or Off -
https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-network-discovery-turn-on-off/
(4) Enable or Disable Network Discovery or Sharing in Windows 11/10.
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/enable-disable-network-discovery-windows
*******
You can enable SMBV1 in Programs and Features : Windows Features, and
this may enable more than SSDP for identifying resources on the network.
I suspect there is still a Browse Master in the Network Browser, still elections every fifteen minutes (this is a Non-Domain home setup), and
the NetBIOS protocol would be used for your older NAS to "register"
itself with the workgroup=WORKGROUP workgroup. There may be more
than one protocol involved.
As well, there is some level of mis-behavior at the OS version level.
WinXP and Win7 may be treated as "peasants" at times, with W10 or W11
ignoring them. WinXP could have SSDP added as a separate installation
package. Windows 7 uses SSDP to render the "network diagram" only it has
as a feature (Win7 can draw a map of your network, after a fashion).
It's not as if the OSes lack some features, but for some reason, the evolution has seen to it that "not everybody is equal" on a home network.
I find it may help, to boot WinXP first (or your NAS, around the same time). Then boot Win7 (it could become the Browse Master). Then randomly boot
your remaining W10 or W11. And, like winning the lottery, every
once in a while, all the icons will appear for the computers.
Ways to access shares:
explorer \\wallace\shared # Or place the URI in the File Explorer nav box
explorer \\192.168.1.2\shared
In Linux, it looks like this:
nemo smb://wallace/shared
nemo smb://192.168.1.2/shared
In both cases, you log into the remote serving device,
using an account that exists on the remote serving device.
For example, if your local machine has "wally account"
and the remote machine has "bullwinkle account" amongst others,
you log in as bullwinkle : bullwinkle_password as seen on
the remote machine.
On a Domain (at work), the Domain Server holds the credentials,
and you would be "wally everywhere" and things would tend to work.
You would have the access rights of Wally. And the sloppy permissions
we used on the "shared" folder at home (it takes a separate step
when setting up a share to do that), would also likely be less sloppy
in a Domain. You would be blocked according to the whim of
your Administrator. We usually smash down the permissions, to
make the handling of files "easy" but not "secure" particularly.
There could be many shares at work... and you can access absolutely
none of them. Even though the handling of the materials, is
no longer a creaky mess.
Paul
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