Naming in OSI: Distinguished names or object identifiers?

Abstract

Two identification schemes are introduced that are largely used in the OSI world, and increasingly accepted in the broader telecommunications world: distinguished names and object identifiers. It is shown that the former scheme is flexible and powerful enough to satisfy the naming needs of a global worldwide network, while the latter can address some special requirements in particular cases. A solution is proposed that allows the two schemes to coexist with minor changes to existing standards, in the framework of the same worldwide X.500-based directory service, thus avoiding needless proliferation of incompatible direction services.