[comp.protocols.tcp-ip] GOSIP from the grape vine

beach@DDNUVAX.AF.MIL (darrel beach) (07/11/90)

Now that implementation of GOSIP are appearing, or at are claimed, on
certain vendor's shelves, I have a question or two maybe someone can 
answer.  We've finally reached a point in tcp/ip where most (not all by
any means) can support DNS and host tables are fading away.  Now comes
GOSIP (with its 3 versions thus far).  It looks like at least for the
near future, the mapping between OR (originator/recipient) addresses to
some particular NSAP address is table driven, at least until directory
services is fully implemented by all.  Is this true, or have I missed
something??

There also seems to be the beginning of a plethora of so called
gateways to get from smtp based mail systems to X.400 based systems,
and might add full suite GOSIP x.400.  Now just how the heck you map
some particular X.400 address to some particular user@host internet
address  seems a little dicey.  From what I've seen, it looks like
another big table to do the mapping.  Has anybody implemented one
of these beasts and knows the definitive answer??

ciao,
Darrel Beach

poole@chx400.switch.ch (Simon Poole) (07/11/90)

In article <CMM.0.88.647647249.beach@ddnuvax.af.mil> beach@DDNUVAX.AF.MIL (darrel beach) writes:
.....
>
>There also seems to be the beginning of a plethora of so called
>gateways to get from smtp based mail systems to X.400 based systems,
>and might add full suite GOSIP x.400.  Now just how the heck you map
>some particular X.400 address to some particular user@host internet
>address  seems a little dicey.  From what I've seen, it looks like
>another big table to do the mapping.  Has anybody implemented one
>of these beasts and knows the definitive answer??

There are quite a few RFC987/1148 gateways out there (RFC987/1148
describe the mapping of X.400(84)/(88) to RFC822 and vice versa). 
Currently the tables which control the address mapping have around 600
entries. The main problem with them is not so much the size*, but the
fact that changes to the tables and installation of them has to be 
globally coordinated. For example: in the RARE MHS project, installation 
of new tables happens every two months.

*if you have a reasonable mapping strategy you can keep the number of entries
per country to a sensible number, we have five (plus mappings for RFC822 
top level domains: edu etc.), Germany ~180.
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
						Simon Poole
 poole@verw.switch.ch / poole@chx400.switch.ch / mcsun!chx400!poole
------------------------------------------------------------------------

hung@ENIAC.SEAS.UPENN.EDU (Han Hung) (07/11/90)

t~?

sharon@asylum.SF.CA.US (Sharon Fisher) (07/11/90)

In article <CMM.0.88.647647249.beach@ddnuvax.af.mil> beach@DDNUVAX.AF.MIL (darrel beach) writes:
>Now that implementation of GOSIP are appearing, or at are claimed, on
>certain vendor's shelves, I have a question or two maybe someone can 
>answer.  

Really?  Who?