Resources in a cloud can be identified using identifiers based on random numbers. When using a distributed hash table to resolve such identifiers to network locations, the straightforward approach is to store the network location directly in the hash table entry associated with an identifier. When a mobile host contains a large number of resources, this requires that all of the associated hash table entries must be updated when its network address changes. We propose an alternative approach where we store a host identifier in the entry associated with a resource identifier and the actual network address of the host in a separate host entry. This can drastically reduce the time required for updating the distributed hash table when a mobile host changes its network address. We also investigate under which circumstances our approach should or should not be used. We evaluate and confirm the usefulness of our approach with experiments run on top of OpenDHT.
The Domain Name System (DNS) provides name service for the DARPA Internet. It is one of the largest name services in operation today, serves a highly diverse community of hosts, users, and networks, and uses a unique combination of hierarchies, caching, and datagram access. This paper examines the ideas behind the initial design of the DNS in 1983, discusses the evolution of these ideas into the current implementations and usages, notes conspicuous surprises, successes and shortcomings, and attempts to predict its future evolution. To fill the gap between what uniform resource names (URNs) provide and what humans need, we propose a new kind of uniform resource identifier (URI) called human-friendly names (HFNs). In this article, we present the design for a scalable HFN-to-URL (uniform resource locator) resolution mechanism that makes use of the Domain Name System (DNS) and the Globe location service to name and locate resources. This new URI proposes to improve both scalability and usability in naming replicated resources on the Web.