Names Outside of the DCE Directory Service
Not all DCE names are stored directly in the Directory Service. Some services connect into the cell namespace by means of specialized CDS entries called junctions. A junction entry contains binding information that enables a client to connect to a server outside of the Directory Service.
For example, the Security Service keeps a database of principals (users and servers) and information about them, such as their passwords. The default name of the Security Service junction is /.:/sec.
The following example illustrates the parts of a global DCE principal name:
The cell name, /.../C=US/O=ABC/OU=west, is a GDS name. The sec portion is the junction entry in CDS, and principals/mozart is a principal name that is stored in the Security Service database.
Another service that uses junctions is DFS. The DFS Fileset Location Service keeps a database that maps DFS filesets to the servers where they reside. The junction to this database has a default name of /.:/fs. The following example illustrates the parts of a global DCE filename:
The global name contains a DNS cell name, /.../ai.mit.edu. The fs portion is the file system junction entry in CDS, and /users/mozart/myfile is the name of a file.
Thus, the DCE namespace is a connected tree of many kinds of names from many different sources. The GDA component of the Directory Service provides connections out of the cell and to other cells through a global namespace, such as GDS or DNS. In a similar manner, junctions enable connections downward from the cell namespace to other services.