Introduction
Contemporary computing and Information Technology has seen the surge of various forms networking projects to provide especially the cyber landscape with highly advanced features that its infrastructure have not been naturally supporting. Critical challenges in the aspects of naming, addressing as well as mobility and security among other aspects of concern have emerged. The salient challenge confronting technological collaboration especially from a networking computing is the need to harmonise system with the entirety often the technological media convergence landscape which constitutes various complex IT models such as mobile device and multi homing paraphernalia. The object of the research paper is to explore various methodologies that have been assembled in the bid to address convergence challenges. The paper zeroes in of the dynamics of flat names, the handling of these. More specifically the paper seeks to presents gathered research material on means to map out human readable names to flat names and vice versa. (Mapping out flat name back to human readable names) The paper also focuses on the aspect and challenge of finding a certificate chain from one flat name to another flat name among other things.
Research Methodology
To meaningfully frame the ideological, theoretical and conceptual platform for the research into it is imperative to consider the employ various research models that will enable the researcher to bring a considerable proportion amount of research detail into perspective. The research thrust will adopt the two salient research theoretical frameworks, the positivist and non-positivist research paradigms. (Barker E: 2003) contends that the positivist theory entails the economic, behavioral, cognitive, motivational/trait/attitudinal, and situational viewpoints. According to the scholar the viewpoints are treated as the conventional perceptions as they came before the crafting of the non-positivist model.
In the views of the scholar, the positivist model which is still the principal framework reinforces the superiority of human reason and stresses that there is one objective reality which can be unearthed by scientific means. As such this design renders the world as an ordered and coherent environment with a well defined past, present and future. The tenets of the theory are clearly underpinned on the suppositions of rationalism. On the other end the contrasting non-positivist model holds the interpretive and post-modern viewpoints. Tenets of this model entail that the world be view as s composite social and cultural world contrary to the viewpoints of the positivist paradigm which hold the world in a rationality view that supposes a homogenous social fabric.
Leveraging on the theoretical and principal tenets of largely, the non-positivist research theory, this research exercise will provide gathered perspectives, findings and insights that will assist in the exploration of the dynamics of the handling of flat names together with self-certifying dynamic associated with flat names.
Secondary Data
The research endeavor will also augment the primary data gathering and evaluations by conducting a secondary data gathering and evaluation thrust. Secondary data gathering draws much from published literature on the subject directly under the concept and scope focus of the research endeavor. In Stewart and Kamins (1993), perspective the employ of secondary data has merits for a researcher as on is able asses the suitability of a data as it is already in place. Before delving into secondary sources of data, an evaluation of potential secondary data is essential as a way of screening resources to establish the relevant sources of information which will provide relevant data germane to fulfilling research scope and objectives. The qualitative thrust will be conducted in from of a literature review which will present relevant and related insights and nuances from published literature on the subjects under probe. It is perceived that these research approaches will suffice to help arrive at meaningful positions regards the dynamics of handling flat names enlisting the converting of human readable names into flat names and vice versa feasible archival methods and techniques. Secondary data will also be consulted to explore the dynamic of how a certificate chain can be found from one flat name to another.
Handling Flat and self-certifying Names
Recent researches have unearthed that programmers are inventing methods of handling flat names. Peterson, L. et al (2002), note that researchers have developed a distributed system that is tailored to handle flat semantic-free identifiers. “This has been done in the premise that Distributed hash tables (DHTs) in theory enable users to of the DHT to perform fast lookups on quick lookups on flat recognise sand identifiers some researchers have advanced the use of these as a substrate for various resolution procedures”. (Peterson L et al 2002) Researchers have been advancing an infrastructure style DHTs in systems such CoDoNS. IN the CoDoNS the lookup up key is actually a hash form of the DNS name and the focus of the resolution comes out as a record. In the foregoing design the look up key is a flat that is identified.
Some companies depend on a legacy model that writes data onto flat files on a regular basis and assigns a unique identity (name) to the file basing on the date and time components of its generation. After the foregoing one would then have to create a mapping out solution where in the created flat files are used as the source and ensure that the mapping methodology actually transforms and can load the data to a relational database. It must noted that mappings require that file s bear permanent names and in the foregoing description the name of the source files transforms in every count a file creation. Researches conducted show that there are some a feasible solutions and approaches to the aforementioned scenario in which a designer in Warehouse Builder can model a process flow that will locate a created file with flat names in specific location or directory and then rename it to a permanent name that would have been assigned to it. The process would then proceed to launch a dependent mapping to convert the flat name to a human readable name. Through this procedure the stable flat file can then be used to leverage as the source for the mapping process that must be conducted.
Contemporary designs in the domains that deal with the handling of flat names have seen the entry of FNR, the flat name revolver. This according to Saltzer J (1993) is a first of kind model that is robust and versatile. The scholar particularly notes that the design requires minimal trust assumptions leveraging on the fact that the system has enough capacity and functionalities required for the handling of millions of flat name lookups per given second. The system offers optimality when it comes to the application of flat name resolution. The system is not a remodeling or reinvention of typical and traditional flat name handling designs DHTs but a novel read-write distributed model.
Flat Name resolving and self-certification
The FNR model and infrastructure is a monitored and regulated infrastructure in the mold of OpenDHT. The system runs on a rather small set of easily available nodes together with a considerably regular node membership where in the underlying suppositions that one trusted entity articulates membership data to all the nodes periodically. It must be noted here that on the other perspective DHTs are tailored for huge distributed designs which have millions of nodes in the system. As such DHTs will need a major trust assumption that all the nodes propagate or articulate appropriate membership data.
As in a DHT system every key is assigned to a subset of assigned nodes. In this process and system the relationship is established by continual hashing. Since all nodes have complete data on the identities of all nodes the look up predicament of establishing the nodes of a particular key which is a prominent characteristic in DHT is negligible in FNR. In mentioning the foregoing it is also important to state that nodes in a DHT model have to share trust across the system to look up keys that will lead to routing issues for which solution will inevitably require additional mechanisms.
In contemporary systems various forms of storage systems safeguard the integrity of key-value pairs through self-certification. In a key value pair K-V that is kept in the system. Any user with access is able to check, with the variables K and V given that V belongs to K. The usual approach which entails the constructing self-certifying key value pairs involves the employ of public key cryptographic public key referred to as ’PK’ such that K holds up the hash of ‘PK’ whilst V holds the signature with the corresponding secret key SK. This is such that anyone is in a position to verify that the variable was generated by the person who possessed the public key which is a component of K. Nonetheless on the contrary the approach has the set back characterised by that when the owner of K alters its public key as a result of a compromise of the corresponding secret key, in such a case K has to change.This poses critical problems for users with applications that require K to be consistent. FNR also makes use of self-certifications to keep key value pairs although it has the capacity to diminish the effect of key compromise and ensures that all the key variables are persistent.
Tschudin, C. et al (2002) presents a case study which details the process of a creating a process flow as well as flat name mapping functionality that links to extract data from a legacy model which creates flat files that have variable names. According to the cited scholar the process flow runs on the instrumentation of an external process activity. Below is an outline of the case scenario:
- Generated Flat File. The legacy model creates a flat file holding sales data on daily schedule and saves the file in the directory C:sales_files folder and names the file according the time and date components of the creation functionality of the file such as sales010520041154.dat. In the system every created file will be deposited in the same directory and saved beginning with the word ‘sales’ followed by the time stamp data.
- Permanent Flat File Name. One designing can then choose to decide to change the name of the file for instance to s_data.dat. This is the naming that will be referenced as the flat file source in the mapping procedures and methodology.
- Process Activity. The designer can then proceed to model a process flow that can be named OWF_EXT such that it can execute given batch commands in the DOS as a way of copying the generated file and saving it as s_data.dat-after which the Programme can go on to truncate (delete) the originally generated file. The underlying objective in the forgoing is on the creation of the kind of logic and flow that will enable and ensure that the created files are renamed appropriately prior to that of setting of the mapping functionality.
Finding certification chain from one flat name to another
The FNR has a remarkable ways in which certificate chains are traced from one flat name to the next. According to the FNR model has what has been termed as the Fault Tolerant Update Protocol. The protocol serves to keep self-certifying branded key-values pairs within the FNR system. In this system users send out Read (key) and Write (key, Value) RPCs to an adequately established set of FNR ensembles known as portals. The mapping out of certificate chains in this formidable model entails the manipulation of the fact that all nodes have complete data on the membership of the model; as such a portal is capable of establishing the group of nodes which are responsible for a particular key through the means of consistent hashing.
To receive the certification chain on the following levels or stages in a networking process a request to write a key value pair, in the process the portal will keep the key-value pair on every allocated node of the key. On the reception of a sent ‘read’ request on a particular key, the portal will search and query all the allocate nodes of the particular key and then issue out the value that has highest version digit from the set that holds all the values sent back by the allocated nodes. This is the flesh and bones of the way certificate chain are mapped out from one flat name to the next flat name in a flat name resolver (FNR) system.
The FNR protocols are tailored to read and write key value pairs elements accurately even in cases when a fraction of nodes shows Byzantine faults. In case in points indicate that the read function and protocol works accurately even if all but one of the allocated nodes returns the inappropriate value. The FNR read and write functionalities and procedures typify the thrust employed in Byzantine Quorum Models in order to tolerate Byzantine faults. The FNR offer functionalities which serve only as probabilistic guarantees while also allowing to the reading and/or writing function to be tuned in tandem with the level of performance guarantees noting as well that the count of nodes to read from or write to can be modeled in accordance with the level of performance guarantees.
Whilst the DHTs are also tailored to handle the mapping out for certification chains from one flat name to the next, the DHTs are tailored to function in a cooperation trusted context and hence the update functions in DHTs do not function accurately in cases where the nodes have Byzantine faults. Although some DHTs may sustain Byzantine faults by using algorithms which will serve to replicate the state of the model at numerous nodes the overhead of the DHT mechanisms is not required in the certification chain mapping model of the FNR due to the self-certifying capability of the FNR key-value pairs.
FNR and Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is web based system design which entails intensive use of computer technology (computing). The concept is a business information management model of computing in which typically real time scalable IT resources are offered as service over the internet to system front end user who do not, may not need to have knowledge of it or expertise as well as control over the technology infrastructure In the so called ” cloud” in which the services are premised and supported. The cloud computing encompasses software as a service (SaaS) interactive and dynamic Web 2.0 as well as other emergent IT technological models. The underlying theme governing the development and implementations of cloud computing is the dependence on the internet for satisfying the computing needs of the user. One illustrious example of the forging is Google Apps, a facility that provides common business applications online available and accessed through a web browser like internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox. Saltzer J (1993) notes that the merits and formidability of FNR methodologies of handling flat names and mapping out certification chains have made the model popular with practitioners who provide cloud computing services. “The FNR model provides a optimal flat name handling system for robust networking as provided in cloud computing environments”.
In the aspect known in FNR parlance as Weak Consistency semantic the FNR model offers weaker consistency assurances than the DHTs in the regard of the keeping of key value pairs persistently as a mean to simplify its system and its working. Notes that must not be considered as set back of the certification chain mapping functionality of the FNR model since the flat names will be published with a TTL and thus will be regularly refreshed by their owners in manner that typifies the way DNS names are handled.
Research material has demonstrated that the flat name resolver (FNR) model provides optimal functionality some of the mapping out of flat names to human readable names and vice versa. Peterson, L. et al (2002) note that the system is a high-throughput flat name resolution infrastructure which will need just minimal trust assumptions in comparison to other flat name and handling and mapping models.
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