[Opensim-dev] Global identifiers

[Karen Palen]

I disagree somewhat :-)

The "NAME" local, global or whatever MUST be the UUID that is found in the
local database.

This is how OpenSimulator is designed and it is sound for many many reasons.

EVERYTHING else is simply a way to verify the correctness and/or context of
that UUID!

The URI/URL is merely a means to that end, but somehow we must resolve that
UUID locally every time the IM/asset/prim/avatar is referenced!

To me thta is why th ecache model is so powerful - it provides for an "right
now" resolution of the reference which is vital, while allowing for
updates/changes if/as/when such better information becomes available.

At the risk of being repetitious, th eonly time that is a problem is if
there ever gets to be more than one "authority" either through malicious
intent or simple screwup!

Karen

On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 1:49 AM, Ai Austin <ai.ai.austin at gmail.com> wrote:

> In OpenSim references to host names , we seem to see three different types
> of host address:
>
> IP numbers
> DNS names
> DNS names of an underling machine
>
> OpenSim allows the specification of host name is used for the various
> (Robust) services, but still we often see it subsitituted with the
> underlying IP address, and in one or two cases perhaps the underlying
> canonical DNS machine name.
>
> Our policy is always to specify a (stable) DNS alias (CNAME) for what we
> call a service name  e.g. ftp.aiai.ed.ac.uk, ssh.aiai.ed.ac.uk,
> xmpp.aiai.ed.ac.uk, media.aiai.ed.ac.uk, and then map that to the current
> host that provides that service.  The underlying canonical host name is
> unique in our asset data base, so cannot easily be reused when we move to
> new hardware.
>
> Hence, for our virtual worlds servers we have used aliases as follows:
>
> virtual.aiai.ed.ac.uk for the entry grid services (Robust in our case)
> virtual1.aiai.ed.ac.uk  for an OpenSim region server
> ...
> virtualN.aiai.ed.ac.uk  for an OpenSim region server
>
> If the "authority" in the external identity URL is to have any meaning at
> all in our context, and stand a chance later of finding the machine running
> the relevant virtual worlds services, it needs to retain the name we give
> for the services in the OpenSim.ini and Robust.HG.ini files... not try to
> resolve that to a current mapping to an IP number or an underlying machine
> name.
>
> I would assume similar issues would arise if dynamic server name services
> are used to get a stable name for using OpenSim in some home and NAT router
> network situations too.
>
>
>
>
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>
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