Names, Addresses, and Directory Services for Computer Mail

In an environment of several computer-based message systems (CBMS) interconnecting companies both within and beyond national borders, users would find it quite inconvenient to have to refer to one another by means of system addresses. Furthermore, users operating in a distributed environment may have multiple addresses and change their locations fairly frequently. To support better management of system resources, therefore, a mapping service from names to addresses would be a desirable component.Presented in this paper is a framework for the design of distributed directory systems in internetwork, international CBMS environments. The objective is to provide the requisite mechanisms for mapping from user-oriented naming standards to system-oriented addresses. First a model is introduced to specify the role of directory systems in CBMS environments and to determine which names and addresses are present in such environments. Functional models are then used to illustrate general design criteria for the implementation of distributed directory systems.