Windows Server 2003 in a Nutshell
| net send |
Sends a message to users or computers on the network.
Syntax
net send { name * /domain[: name ] /users} message
Options
- name
-
Sends the message to a specific recipient, which can be:
- A logged-on user
-
user logon name
- A computer name
-
NetBIOS name
- A computer alias
-
see net name earlier in this chapter
- *
-
Broadcasts the message to all registered NetBIOS names in the domain or workgroup
- /domain[:name]
-
Broadcasts the message to all names in the local domain or a specified domain
- /users
-
Sends the message to all users connected to the server
- message
-
Is the actual message sent (no quotes required)
Examples
Send the message "Save your workrebooting in 5 minutes" to all users who have open sessions with the server:
net send /users Save your work--rebooting in 5 minutes
Notes
-
In order for a user to receive messages, the Messenger service must be running.
-
Use quotation marks for computer names or usernames that have embedded spaces in them.
-
Messages can be up to 128 characters in length.
-
The message queue, which temporarily stores messages for the Messenger service, can store a maximum of only six messages; any further messages are ignored if the previous ones aren't acknowledged .
-
net send * is the same as net send /domain .
-
Broadcast messages ( * and /domain options) are sent over all network protocols. For example, if you have both TCP/IP and NWLink installed, messages will appear twice on receiving machines. Messages sent to specific recipients are received only once, however.
-
Broadcast messages are received only on the local subnet unless routers are specifically configured to forward NetBIOS Name Query packets.
-
Messages sent using the /user option are sent to each session established with the server. If a user has three sessions open with the server, the message will be received three times.
See Also
Shared Folders