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WNDR4500 / Windows + Linux + NAS / cannot always reach by hostname
My network generally works well. I've got DHCP handing out IP addresses and a few fixed IP's for printers and NAS devices. I've got the following devices on my network all managed through wired and...
What happens if you try nbtstat -a <hostname> from your work laptop to one of your machines? Check nbtstat -r afterwards to see if the counters increase.
Can you look at the advanced adapter settings on your laptop and see whether a WINS server address is configured? You probably also want to make sure that NetBIOS over TCP/IP is enabled.
You may also want to look at the Windows registry for the NetBIOS node type. I believe the key is HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NetBT\Parameters\NodeType. The values are explained at this link.
Does this only happen with your work laptop, or do other machines experience this symptom, too?
AFAIK, the WNDR4500 is not a WINS server, nor does it participate in Windows name resolution. In a home setting, Windows name resolution is serverless and is handled through the use of broadcasts. If you have multiple IP subnets, then name resolution will not work. Most home networks are a single subnet. I assume yours is, too.
In a work setting, Windows name resolution is often handled by an Active Directory or a WINS server. I kinda wonder if, perhaps, your work laptop is trying to contact a work server for name resolution? You can try using nbtstat at the Command Prompt to troubleshoot name resolution problems. Wikipedia has a page on it (link). nbtstat -a <hostname> will attempt a name resolution. It's equivalent of nslookup for Windows names. nbtstat -r will give you stats on resolution requests performed by broadcast and by server. If the server count is non-zero, then your laptop is probably trying to contact a server. nbtstat -c will display the local name cache.
This article is helpful for understanding Windows name resolution (link).