Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!mcsun!hp4nl!oce-rd1!fs1-cg!mhsc
From: mhsc@fs1-cg.oce.nl (Maarten Schoonwater)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.iso
Subject: Re: OR Name Questions (was Questions about X.400)
Message-ID: <1388@oce-rd1.oce.nl>
Date: 22 Nov 89 12:32:24 GMT
References: <8911201633.AA13020@cmcvax>
Sender: news@oce-rd1.oce.nl
Reply-To: mhsc@oce.nl (Maarten Schoonwater)
Organization: Oce-Nederland bv, Venlo, the Netherlands
Lines: 69

In article <8911201633.AA13020@cmcvax> milt@cmcvax.UUCP (Milt Roselinsky) writes:

>
>1 - I'd be real interested in hearing from anyone who understands how 
>OR Names and NSAP Addresses are going to be administered in their
>respective neck of an eventual worldwide OSI Network.  Are the
>administrative offices currently in place and operating in this
>capacity?

This is one of the things where network administrators are helpful, PTT's
for instance. For X.25 the NSAP addresses are already globally assigned
(X.121 standard which uses a hierarchical structure like with a globally
unique network identifier and a per domain assigned net number), you can
dial all over the world. For NSAPs on local area networks a like strategy
is true but you can not know how to reache a certain network, this is more
the scope of a directory service that could tell you the gateway address
for this net.

For X.400 I would certainly not recomment direct connections over X.25. We
have currently 10 connections with our research partners here in Europe
(ODA over X.400 over X.25), but it is painful to keep such a network up.
You have to test all the layers with all the partners and adjust all the
parameters. With one change per month per partner you are always busy!

For real X.400 interconnections you need ADMD's, who give you a X.400
service. Then you only have to connect physically to your ADMD and for the
rest you only have to know the OR-names of your relations, the ADMD's will
take care of all the routing.
>
>2 - How is this being done with currently available X.400 services?
>
I was informed that our Dutch PTT pilot ADMD has already connections to 8 other
ADMD's, like Gold400 in the UK and Atlas in France. There are about 30
(large) sites connected. Mind that behind most sites a DEC, IBM or whatever
network is hanging with many users.

>3 - Will there be worldwide X.500 services and who will support/
>administer?  Is there agreement on what should go into the directory?
>
For the moment the number of X.400 connected relation of you will not be
that big and a local directory as part of a user interface will do. I guess
that X.400 directory books will show up for some time (like Fax directories
are now). In the end ( few years) a global network of interconnected X.500
servers (DSA's) will be the real solution. This will really be a "Value
Added Network service", there are not so many services which add value
around yet.

>These questions are probably somewhat unclear, as I find it difficult
>to glean answers to these questions from reading any specs I've been
>able to get my hands on.
>
No problem at all, I think your questions are very to the point.

>Milt Roselinsky                     CMC Corp.
>cmcvax!milt@hub.ucsb.edu            125 Cremona Dr.
>                                    Santa Barbara, Ca. 93117


Maarten Schoonwater
Oce-Nederland BV
Venlo, Netherlands
email: mhsc@oce.nl
phone: +31 77 59 35 48



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