The Hesiod Name Server.

Abstract

Hesiod, the Athena name server, provides naming for services and data objects in a distributed network environment. More specifically, it replaces databases that heretofore have had to be duplicated on each workstation and timesharing machine (e.g., remote file system information, /etc/printcap, /etc/services, /etc/passwd, /etc/group) and provides a flexible mechanism to supply new information as the need arises. 1. Introduction and Purpose The computing enviroment at Project Athena has recently changed from a group of timesharing machines to a collection of file servers and many hundreds (and potentially many thousands) of publically-accessible workstations. The origins of UNIX+ as a time-sharing system become acutely obvious when confronted with the need to manage information for hundreds of machines that may be used by many different individuals. The method used by UNIX to maintain information for its users and programs has been ASCII database files stored on each machine whic...