NetBIOS (Network Basic Input/Output System)

NetBIOS (Network Basic Input/Output System) is a program that allows applications on different computers to communicate within a local area network (LAN). It was created by IBM for its early PC Network, was adopted by Microsoft, and has since become a de facto industry standard. NetBIOS is used in Ethernet and Token Ring networks and, included as part of NetBIOS Extended User Interface (NetBEUI), in recent Microsoft Windows operating systems. It does not in itself support a routing mechanism so applications communicating on a wide area network (WAN) must use another "transport mechanism" (such as Transmission Control Protocol) rather than or in addition to NetBIOS.