Distributed Name Service (DNS) Management Operations Manual

Glossary
31258 Tandem Computers Incorporated Glossary–1
This glossary defines technical terms that are used in this manual. Some of these terms
are also defined in the Distributed Systems Management (DSM) Management
Programming Manual.
alias. Any name that the user can enter to identify an object. In the context of DNS,
every alias corresponds to a particular subsystem-object name recognized by some
subsystem or by the Guardian 90 operating system. Support for aliases permits
management applications to accept an alias in a command and use DNS to translate it
into the proper subsystem-object name. Aliases can simplify the way in which a user
refers to an object. For instance, a terminal with the subsystem-object name TERM23
under \BRONX.$PM could be configured for reference by the alias MYTERM; the
program $SYSTEM.SYSTEM.FUP could be referred to simply as FUP.
alias type. An attribute that may optionally be associated with an alias to distinguish it
from other aliases that refer to the same object. The alias type is defined and assigned
by the user.
alias type name. A name assigned by the user to identify an alias type. An
externalization of the owner.alias type number construct. As an example, if a user of
DNS wishes to define the telephone company circuit number as an alias for a
communications line, an appropriate name for the alias type might be “CIRCUIT”.
alias type number. In DNS, an integer used to identify an alias type within the context of
the owner of the type. The owner.alias type number pair always provides a unique
identifier for the alias type that is independent of the alias type name assigned by a
particular company. Developers of management applications should always use the
owner.type number pair to refer internally to the alias type; DNS provides a
programmatic command for translating the pair to the type name, and vice versa. This
approach assures portability for management applications without concern for alias
type name conflicts.
ATM. See automated teller machine.
automated teller machine (ATM). A type of terminal used by banks for automated deposits
and withdrawals.
attribute. A characteristic of an entity. For example, two attributes of a DNS alias are
an alias type and domain. Two attributes of a communications line might be its baud
rate and its retry count.
client. A requester. As an example, a client of DNS may be either the DNSCOM
interactive interface or a management application.
command. A demand for action by or information from a subsystem, or the operation
demanded by an operator or application. A command is typically conveyed as an
interprocessor message from an application to a subsystem.