BROWSTAT - CMD

Overview

BROWSTAT is a command-line utility used to diagnose and gather statistics about Microsoft Windows Browser Service. It is typically used in environments with Windows workgroups or domains to troubleshoot network-related issues, by providing information about master browsers and domain controllers to ensure proper network functionality.

Syntax

The basic syntax for using the BROWSTAT command is:

BROWSTAT [options]

Most Common Commands:

  • BROWSTAT STATUS – Shows status of browsing.
  • BROWSTAT VIEW <domain> – Lists servers available on the specified domain.

All commands should be run from the command prompt with applicable privileges.

Options/Flags

BROWSTAT offers several options and flags that modify its behavior:

  • STATUS: Retrieves the status of browser services.
  • VIEW: Requires an additional argument which is the domain from which to list the servers.
  • /DOMAIN:<domain>: Specifies the domain to query, overriding the default.
  • /HELP or /?: Displays help information.

Each option modifies BROWSTAT‘s output, providing different levels of detail or targeting different network segments.

Examples

  1. Checking Browser Status
    Display the current browser status:

    BROWSTAT STATUS

  2. Viewing Servers in a Domain
    To list all servers in a specified domain:

    BROWSTAT VIEW /DOMAIN:yourdomain

  3. Help Information
    To get more information about the command usage:

    BROWSTAT /HELP

Common Issues

  • Permission Errors: Ensure that CMD is run with administrative privileges to avoid issues with access rights.
  • Network Visibility: Sometimes, servers may not be visible due to network configuration issues like firewalls blocking UDP ports required for browser announcements.

Integration

BROWSTAT can be combined with other CMD commands or scripting to automate network monitoring and troubleshooting tasks. For example:

@echo off
SET LOGFILE=browser_status.log
echo Status on %date% at %time% >> %LOGFILE%
BROWSTAT STATUS >> %LOGFILE%

This script will log the status of browser services to a file, appending new entries with each run.

  • NET VIEW: Lists resources shared on a network.
  • NET STATISTICS: Shows the network statistics log.

For a deeper dive into network troubleshooting and management on Windows, refer to the official Microsoft documentation and resources available online for the latest guidance and detailed usage scenarios of the network commands.