RFC 2165 (rfc2165) - Page 3 of 72

Service Location Protocol

RFC 2165               Service Location Protocol               June 1997


23. Non-configurable Parameters                                       63
24. Acknowledgments                                                   64
 A. Appendix:  Technical contents of ISO 639:1988 (E/F): "Code for
   the representation of names of languages"                          65
 B. SLP Certificates                                                  66
 C. Example of deploying SLP security using MD5 and RSA               68
 D. Example of use of SLP Certificates by mobile nodes                68
 E. Appendix:  For Further Reading                                    69

1. Introduction

   Traditionally, users find services by using the name of a network
   host (a human readable text string) which is an alias for a network
   address.  The Service Location Protocol eliminates the need for a
   user to know the name of a network host supporting a service.
   Rather, the user names the service and supplies a set of attributes
   which describe the service.  The Service Location Protocol allows the
   user to bind this description to the network address of the service.

   Service Location provides a dynamic configuration mechanism for
   applications in local area networks.  It is not a global resolution
   system for the entire Internet; rather it is intended to serve
   enterprise networks with shared services.  Applications are modeled
   as clients that need to find servers attached to the enterprise
   network at a possibly distant location.  For cases where there are
   many different clients and/or services available, the protocol is
   adapted to make use of nearby Directory Agents that offer a
   centralized repository for advertised services.

2. Terminology

      User Agent (UA)
                A process working on the user's behalf to acquire
                service attributes and configuration.  The User Agent
                retrieves service information from the Service Agents or
                Directory Agents.

      Service Agent (SA)
                A process working on the behalf of one or more services
                to advertise service attributes and configuration.

      Service Information
                A collection of attributes and configuration information
                associated with a single service.  The Service Agents
                advertise service information for a collection of
                service instances.





Veizades, et. al.           Standards Track