X.500
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... We will take a brief look at the services available today, and at the
problems they have, and then we will show how the X.500 standard
solves those problems.
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... THE X.500 SOLUTION ...
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X.500 is a CCITT protocol which is designed to build a distributed,
global directory. It offers the following features:
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... Decentralized Maintenance:
Each site running X.500 is responsible ONLY for its local part of
the Directory, so updates and maintenance can be done instantly.
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... Powerful Searching Capabilities:
X.500 provides powerful searching facilities that allow users to
construct arbitrarily complex queries.
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... Single Global Namespace:
Much like the DNS, X.500 provides a single homogeneous namespace
to users. The X.500 ...
... X.500 provides a single homogeneous namespace
to users. The X.500 namespace is more flexible and expandable
than the DNS ...
... Structured Information Framework:
X.500 defines the information framework used in the Directory,
allowing local extensions.
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... Standards-Based Directory Services:
As X.500 can be used to build a standards-based directory,
applications which require directory information (e-mail,
automated resources locators, special-purpose directory tools ...
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With these features alone, X.500 is being used today to provide the
backbone of a global White Pages ...
... White Pages service. There is almost 3 years of
operational experience with X.500, and it is being used widely in
Europe and Australia in addition to North America ...
... Europe and Australia in addition to North America. In addition, the
various X.500 implementations add some other features, such as
photographs in G3-FAX format, and color photos in JPEG ...
... FAX format, and color photos in JPEG format.
However, as X.500 is standards based, there are very few
incompatibilities between the various versions of X.500 ...
... X.500 is standards based, there are very few
incompatibilities between the various versions of X.500, and as the
namespace is consistent, the information in the Directory can be
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However, there are some limitations to the X.500 technology as it is
currently implemented. One price that is paid for the flexibility in
searching is a decline in the speed of the searching. This is because
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The X.500 Directory is taking us closer to the day when we will
indeed have the entire world on our desktops, and X.500 ...
... X.500 Directory is taking us closer to the day when we will
indeed have the entire world on our desktops, and X.500 will help
insure that we can find whom and what we need.
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For a more detailed technical introduction to X.500 and an extensive
bibliography, see "Technical Overview of Directory Services ...
... bibliography, see "Technical Overview of Directory Services Using the
X.500 Protocol", by Weider, Reynolds, and Heker. This is available
from the NIC as FYI 14, RFC 1309fyi14 ...
... from the NIC as FYI 14, RFC 1309fyi14. For a catalogue of X.500
implementations, see "A Catalog of Available X.500 Implementations",
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... 1309fyi14. For a catalogue of X.500
implementations, see "A Catalog of Available X.500 Implementations",
ed. Lang and Wright. This is available from the NIC as FYI 11, RFC
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