NetBIOS Session Service

What Does NetBIOS Session Service Mean?

NetBIOS session service (NBSS) is a method to connect two computers for transmitting large messages or heavy data traffic. Because the NetBIOS session service is involved in traffic generation and forwarding, TCP port 139 is used. The NetBIOS session service is mostly used for printer and file services over a network.

Techopedia Explains NetBIOS Session Service

A system with NBSS implementation has the following characteristics:

Error Recovery: Applications are allowed to manage the networks and provide error detection and recovery features.
OSI Reference Model Services: Both the transport and session services of the open systems interconnection (OSI) reference model are very close to those used by NetBIOS. However, NetBIOS does not follow the OSI Model format and pattern for transmitting messages.
NBSS Naming: Names for NBSS are 16 bytes long with some specific restraints for byte values.

Related Reading

Cloud Evolution: How We See and Use the Cloud Has Changed

Margaret Rouse

Technology Expert

Margaret is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.

All Articles by Margaret Rouse