If you do not have a WINS server on your LAN, the clients resolve
Netbios names by using broadcasts. And they use broadcasts to build the
browse list. This is fine on a single segment, but broadcasts do not cross
routers or WAN links.
A RAS or VPN client does not send or receive LAN broadcasts, so it is
not in the same browse list as the LAN machines. But it will be able to see
the LAN browse list if it can find the domain master browser. If you are
running WINS on the LAN, the domain master browser will be registered in
WINS.
So if you set up WINS on the LAN and set your LAN clients to use WINS,
all your LAN clients will register wirh WINS and will use WINS to resolve
Netbios names on the LAN. And the domain master browser (the PDC emulator or
first {or only} will build the LAN browse list.
When your remote client connects it should receive the WINS address as
part of the connection process. When it tries to browse the domain, it will
request the IP address of the domain master browser from WINS (using the
special Netbios name <domainname 1b>). WINS will return the master
browser's IP address and the client can then receive the browse list from
the domain master browser, just as the LAN machines do.
If you are really interested (and have lots of time to waste), you can
see all this happen using Netmon.
