OSF DCE Administration Guide--Core Components

OSF DCE Administration Guide—Core Components
11.4.3 Alias Cell Names
You can give a cell more than one global name by creating an alias name for the cell. In
this case, the cell has a primary name, which is the name that DCE services return for
the cell when queried, and one or more cell aliases that the DCE services recognize in
addition to the primary name. For example, if your cell is registered in the DNS global
directory service, and you want to register it in GDS as well, you obtain a GDS name for
the cell and set it up as a cell alias. The DNS name remains the primary name.
You can also change between primary and alias names for a cell; to return to the
previous example, you can make the newly created GDS cell alias the primary name for
the cell, and change the DNS name to a cell alias. Another case in which you may need
to make a cell’s alias name its primary name is when creating a cell hierarchy from
existing independent cells. Chapter 6 of this guide explains how to use the dcecp
cellalias task object to manage your cell names. Chapter 21 of this guide explains how
to create a hierarchical cell.
11.4.4 Cell-Relative Naming in a Standalone Cell
In addition to their global names, all CDS entries have a cell-relative, or local, name that
is meaningful and usable only from within the local cell where that entry exists. The
local name is a shortened form of a global name, and thus is a more convenient way to
refer to resources within a user’s own cell. Local names have the following
characteristics:
• They do not include a global cell name.
• They begin with the /.: prefix.
Local names do not include a global cell name because the /.: prefix indicates that the
name being referred to is within the local cell. When CDS encounters a /.: prefix on a
name, it automatically replaces the prefix with the local cell’s name, forming the global
name. CDS can handle both global and local names, but it is more convenient to use the
local name when referring to a name in the local cell. For example, these names are
equally valid when used within the cell named /.../C=US/O=XYZ/OU=Portland:
/.../C=US/O=XYZ/OU=Portland/subsys/PriceMax/price_server1
/.:/subsys/PriceMax/price_server1
The naming conventions required for the interaction of local and global directory
services may at first seem confusing. In an environment where references to names
outside of the local cell are necessary, the following simple guidelines can help make the
conventions easy to remember and use:
• Know your cell name.
• Know whether a name that you are referring to is in your cell.
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