Overview
NBF protocol uses 802.2 type 1 mode to provide the NetBIOS/NetBEUI name service and datagram service, and 802.2 type 2 mode to provide the NetBIOS/NetBEUI session service (virtual circuit). NBF protocol makes wide use of broadcast messages, which accounts for its reputation as a chatty interface. While the protocol consumes few network resources in a very small network, broadcasts begin to adversely impact performance and speed when the number of hosts present in a network grows.
Sytek developed NetBIOS for IBM for the PC-Network program and was used by Microsoft for MS-NET in 1985. In 1987, Microsoft and Novell utilized it for their network operating systems LAN Manager and NetWare.
Because NBF protocol is unroutable it can only be used to communicate with devices in the same broadcast domain, but being bridgeable it can also be used to communicate with network segments connected to each other via bridges. This means that NBF is only well-suited for small to medium-sized networks, where it has such an advantage over TCP/IP that requires little configuration. The NetBIOS/NetBEUI services must be implemented atop other protocols, such as IPX and TCP/IP (see above) in order to be of use in an internetwork.
Read more about this topic: NetBIOS Frames Protocol