Please Whitelist This Site?

I know everyone hates ads. But please understand that I am providing premium content for free that takes hundreds of hours of time to research and write. I don't want to go to a pay-only model like some sites, but when more and more people block ads, I end up working for free. And I have a family to support, just like you. :)

If you like The TCP/IP Guide, please consider the download version. It's priced very economically and you can read all of it in a convenient format without ads.

If you want to use this site for free, I'd be grateful if you could add the site to the whitelist for Adblock. To do so, just open the Adblock menu and select "Disable on tcpipguide.com". Or go to the Tools menu and select "Adblock Plus Preferences...". Then click "Add Filter..." at the bottom, and add this string: "@@||tcpipguide.com^$document". Then just click OK.

Thanks for your understanding!

Sincerely, Charles Kozierok
Author and Publisher, The TCP/IP Guide


NOTE: Using software to mass-download the site degrades the server and is prohibited.
If you want to read The TCP/IP Guide offline, please consider licensing it. Thank you.

The Book is Here... and Now On Sale!

Read offline with no ads or diagram watermarks!
The TCP/IP Guide

Custom Search







Table Of Contents  The TCP/IP Guide
 9  TCP/IP Application Layer Protocols, Services and Applications (OSI Layers 5, 6 and 7)
      9  Name Systems and TCP/IP Name Registration and Name Resolution
           9  Name System Issues, Concepts and Techniques

Previous Topic/Section
Name System Overview and Motivation
Previous Page
Pages in Current Topic/Section
1
2
Next Page
Name Spaces and Name Architectures (Flat and Hierarchical)
Next Topic/Section

Name System Functions: Name Space, Name Registration and Name Resolution
(Page 1 of 2)

While the difference between numeric addresses and symbolic names is very significant to the users of network devices, it's important to remember that both numbers and names really serve the same basic purpose: device identification. Even when we use a name system to make devices easier to access, the computers themselves will still normally need to use the underlying numeric identifier. In essence, then, every device will end up with (at least) two identifiers: a number and a name.

The fact that devices end up with multiple identifiers is what allows both people and their machines to use the method of identification they prefer. However, it means that there must be ways of managing the assignment of names to devices, and of converting between them. A name system therefore involves more than just slapping names on computers. It must be, in fact, a complete system that allows names to be used by the humans while numbers continue to be used by the devices.

Overview of Basic Name System Functions

At the highest level, I consider a name system's jobs as encompassing these three basic functions:

  • Name Space: The name system defines a name space for the networking system upon which it runs. The name space, also sometimes called a name architecture, describes the rules for how names are structured and used. It also defines how the name of one device is related to the names of other devices in the system, and how to ensure that no invalid names are given that would cause problems with the system as a whole.

  • Name Registration: To implement the name system, a name must be assigned to each device on the network. Like any addressing system, a name system cannot work properly unless every name on the system is unique; we need some way of managing how the names are assigned so the result is sensible. The process of linking specific names to particular devices is usually called name registration.

  • Name Resolution: As I mentioned above, even though humans like symbolic names, computers usually have little use for them. It is necessary to define a mechanism by which a device's symbolic name can be translated into its numeric address. This process is usually called name resolution.

Previous Topic/Section
Name System Overview and Motivation
Previous Page
Pages in Current Topic/Section
1
2
Next Page
Name Spaces and Name Architectures (Flat and Hierarchical)
Next Topic/Section

If you find The TCP/IP Guide useful, please consider making a small Paypal donation to help the site, using one of the buttons below. You can also donate a custom amount using the far right button (not less than $1 please, or PayPal gets most/all of your money!) In lieu of a larger donation, you may wish to consider purchasing a download license of The TCP/IP Guide. Thanks for your support!
Donate $2
Donate $5
Donate $10
Donate $20
Donate $30
Donate: $



Home - Table Of Contents - Contact Us

The TCP/IP Guide (http://www.TCPIPGuide.com)
Version 3.0 - Version Date: September 20, 2005

© Copyright 2001-2005 Charles M. Kozierok. All Rights Reserved.
Not responsible for any loss resulting from the use of this site.