RFC 3254 (rfc3254) - Page 2 of 11
Definitions for talking about directories
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RFC 3254 Definitions for talking about directories April 2002 - Requester: Entity that may (try to) access data in a repository. Note that no assumption is made that the requester is animal, vegetable, or mineral. - Maintainer: Entity that causes changes to the data in the repository. Usually, all maintainers are requesters, since they need to look at the data too, however, the roles are distinct. - Access method: Well-defined series of operations that will cause data available from a repository to be obtained by the requester. - Site: Entity that hosts all or part of a repository, and makes it available through one or more access methods. A site may in various contexts be a machine, a datacenter, a network of datacenters, or a single device. This document is not intended to be either comprehensive or definitive, but is intended to give some aid in mutual comprehension when discussing information access methods to be incorporated into Internet Standards-Track documents. 2. Dimensions of classification 2.1 Uniqueness and scope Some information systems are global, in the sense that only one can sensibly exist in the world. Others are inherently local, in that each locality, site or even box will run its own information store, independent of all others. The following terms are suggested: - Global repository: A repository that there can be only one of in the world. The world itself is a prime example; the public telephone system's number assignments according to E.164 is another. - Local repository: A class of repository of which multiple instances can exist, each with information relevant to that particular repository, with no need for coordination between them. - Centralized repository: A repository where all access to data has to pass through some single site. - Distributed repository: A repository that is not centralized; that is, access to data can occur through multiple sites. Alvestrand Informational
