Directories and Orientation in Heterogeneous Networks

Naming and binding of objects must be considered as central functions of an operating system. In the past, name management has developed from simple name space mapping to directory systems supporting a wide variety of system functions. Naming has gained new attention in the context of distributed systems. During the last years, a great number of distributed services have been realized, each one supported by its own associated directory. To avoid the undesired functional redundancy introduced by such service specific directories, universal directory systems are required capable of supporting any current and future service. This paper describes the concept of the universal directory system developed and implemented as part of the DAC Project.