A Decentralized Naming Facility

Abstract : A key component in distributed computer systems is the naming facility: the means by which high-level names are bound to objects and by which objects are located given only their names. This document describes the design, implementation, and performance of a decentalized naming facility, in which the global name space and name mapping mechanism are implemented by a set of cooperating peers, with no central authority. Decentalization is shown to lend increased extensibility and reliability to the design. Efficiency in name mapping is achieved through specialized caching techniques. (Author)

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