Cell Directory Service

The Cell Directory Service (CDS) manages directories within DCE cells. CDS offers partitioned, distributed database service, including:

· Support for small and large cells

· Ease of management

· Updating mechanisms

· Support for replication

· Built-in caching to improve performance

CDS is a distributed and replicated database for storing information about local cell resources; it also resolves intracell names inside a DCE cell. All object names inside a cell form a rooted tree structure and are grouped under the local root /.: which is the root of the CDS namespace and serves as the cell's namespace nickname. Searches for intracell resources start at this local root and proceed down the tree structure (see Figure 6).

Figure 6 Cell Namespace