It’s official: After almost three decades, Microsoft is set to remove Windows Internet Name Service (WINS) from Windows server updates.

Server 2025, published earlier this month, will be the last update to feature WINS, with standard support set to end in 2034.

Introduced back in 1994, WINS was an essential way for systems to locate each other on a network using NetBIOS names – not to be confused with more modern naming conventions used in modern TCP/IP networks.

DNS would go on to become the de facto standard for name resolution across both Windows and non-Windows servers, leaving WINS systems to fall into legacy obscurity, with Microsoft opting to deprecate it from 2021.

Once standard support ends in 2034, WINS will be removed from Microsoft server systems, along with its binaries, management tools, and APIs from all subsequent Windows Server releases

The hyperscaler has encouraged operators still relying on WINS to migrate their legacy systems to modern DNS-based name resolution solutions well before the 2034 deadline to avoid service disruptions.

“If you do not already have WINS deployed on your network, do not deploy WINS – instead, deploy DNS,” the WINS for Windows Server page reads. “DNS also provides computer name registration and resolution services, and includes many additional benefits over WINS, such as integration with Active Directory Domain Services.”

UPDATE: This article has been updated after a previous version incorrectly stated WINs was published prior to DNS.