A NetBIOS name resolution method used for name registration and resolution. M-node is one of the types of NetBIOS over TCP/IP nodes defined in Request for Comments (RFC) numbers 1001 and 1002, and is supported by computers running Microsoft Windows NT.
Name resolution is the process of converting the name of a host on the network into a network address (such as an IP address). Name resolution must be performed in order to establish communication over a network. M-node is one of four basic methods supported by Windows NT for resolving NetBIOS host names (that is, computer names) into IP addresses.
If a computer running Windows NT is configured as an M-node machine, it first tries to use broadcasts to resolve the names of the hosts, similar to a B-node machine. If name resolution fails this way (for example, if broadcasts are stopped by routers from reaching computers on other subnets), Windows NT tries to use a NetBIOS name server to resolve names of other hosts on the network, similar to a P-node machine. A Windows NT server with the Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) configured on it is a typical example of a NetBIOS name server. The “M” in the term “M-node” stands for “mixed,” as M-node is a mixture of B-node and P-node, in that order.