The Profile Naming Service

Abstract

Profile is a descriptive naming service used to identify users and organizations. This paper presents a structural overview of Profile's three major components: a confederation of attribute-based name servers, a name space abstraction that unifies the name servers, and a user interface that integrates the name space with existing naming systems. Each name server is an independent authority that allows clients to describe users and organizations with a multiplicity of attributes; the name space abstraction is a client program that implements a discipline for searching a sequence of name servers; and the interface provides a tool with which users build customized commands. Experience with an implementation in the DARPA/NSF Internet demonstrates that Profile is a feasible and effective mechanism for naming users and organizations in a large internet. © 1988, ACM. All rights reserved.