To enable NetBIOS name lookup in Linux, simply edit /etc/nsswitch.conf and add wins to the hosts line.
Before:
hosts: files dns After:
hosts: files dns wins Then install the winbind package.
sudo apt-get install winbind
You should now be able to address other machines on your LAN by their hostnames.
Before:
user@host:$ ping otherhost
ping: unknown host otherhost
After:
user@host:$ ping otherhost PING otherhost (192.168.1.1) 56(84) bytes of data. 64 bytes from otherhost.
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