Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!CS.WISC.EDU!cole
From: cole@CS.WISC.EDU (Bruce Cole)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.domains
Subject: Re: Proposal for use of DNS to store RFC 987, etc mappings
Message-ID: <9007200335.AA15529@dip.cs.wisc.edu>
Date: 20 Jul 90 03:35:37 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Distribution: inet
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 57


 > Rob et al:
 > Your proposal requires (as far as I can see)
 > the registration of new toplevel domains C$no, C$us and so on.
 > Maybe we should follow Christian's proposal (I recognize the idea from
 > the MAILWAY code....), and put a single toplevel domain with name "X400"
 > or even "RFC987TABLE"?????
If a new address class is used for the RFC987 mapping data, then adding an
extra level to the DNS tree seems unnecessary.  In this case, root nameservers
would be registered as authoritative for the new address class.  These root
nameservers do not need to be the same as the root nameservers for the 
internet address class.

If the internet address class is used for the RFC987 mapping data, then storing
the new domains within a dummy top level domain seems desirable from an
administrative point of view.

 > The administrative authority for the subdomains of this descends naturally
 > on the RARE MHS managers, since most of the national X.400 authorities
 > (whatever that is) will probably not even know what a DNS is.

And if a new address class is used, then the RARE MHS managers could also be
authoritative for the root nameservers of the new address class.

 > Second note: I have never seen a DNS name with a space in it.
 > The proposal (and RFC987 tables!) depend on $ and . being absent from
 > the attributes (or escaped, see the troubles with uk.ac!). With 
 > X.400/88 we get every character under the sun into the addresses.
 > Is this problem generally solved by using (numeric)?

Section 3.3.3 of RFC987 defines how special characters within O/R addresses
can be represented as (DNS safe) ascii characters for X.400/84.  RFC1138 has
a similar section which applies to X.400/88.  In both, parenthesized numbers
representing ascii codes are used to encode special characters.  

 > Does DNS handle a name of the form
 > 
 > dom(number)dom.gurba .
 > 
 > correctly? (parentheses and space!)

Yes, for example I can add a resource record to my BIND nameserver that looks
like:
	example	in	mx 0 dom(number)dom.gur\ ba.
or
	example in	mx 0 "dom(number)dom.gur ba."

and when I query my nameserver I get:
	dip(cole): host -a example
	Trying domain "cs.wisc.edu"
	rcode = 0 (Success), ancount=1
	example.cs.wisc.edu	86400 IN	MX	0 dom(number)dom.gur ba
	dip(cole): 

Bruce Cole
Computer Sciences Dept.
U. of Wisconsin - Madison