Editing NetBIOS Frames (section)

===Name service===
In order to start sessions or distribute datagrams, an application must register its NetBIOS/NetBEUI name using the name service. To do so, an "Add Name Query" or "Add Group Name Query" packet is broadcast on the network. If the NetBIOS/NetBEUI name is already in use, the name service, running on the host that owns the name, broadcasts a "Node Conflict" message on the network.

In addition, to start a session or to send a datagram to a particular host rather than to broadcast the datagram, NBF protocol has to determine the [[MAC address]] of the host with a given NetBIOS/NetBEUI name; this is done by sending a "Name Query" packet, the response to which will have the MAC address of the host sending the response, i.e. the host with that name.