Distributed Name Service (DNS) Management Operations Manual

1 Introducing the Distributed
Name Service
31258 Tandem Computers Incorporated 1–1
The Distributed Name Service (DNS) subsystem operates in a Tandem NonStop
system or an Expand network. To operate, DNS depends on the presence of the
Guardian 90 operating system and the Transaction Monitoring Facility (TMF) on
your system.
DNS is part of the set of Tandem system management products known collectively as
Distributed Systems Management (DSM). DNS simplifies management of
relationships between objects in a NonStop system or an Expand network by
managing a distributed and partly replicated name database that models those objects.
Because objects relate conceptually to the subsystems that control them, users
sometimes refer to objects as subsystem objects or subsystem-controlled objects.
An object can be any entity that is subject to independent reference and control by a
subsystem. Common examples of objects are disk files, terminals, lines, and printers.
You can define almost anything as an object to DNS: employee names, phone
numbers, locations, and departments, for example. The DNS subsystem lets you
assign names to these objects to make object management easier.
Some objects used with the SNAX/XF subsystem are illustrated in Figure 1-1.
Figure 1-1. Objects and Their Names
Terminal
(TERM-006)
Controller
Node (\NY)
Disk File
(\NY.$ACCT.PAYROLL.EMP)
Comm.Line
($LINE 4)
SNAX/XF
SNA
Controller
S8121-001
Logical Unit
($LINE4.#LU3)