Scope.

This document addresses all aspects of directory services involving mission-related, general-purpose, research, administrative and scientific computing and networking throughout the NASA Agency. It is applicable to all NASA administrative offices, projects, NASA centers and remote sites.

Purpose.

This document defines the Architecture, Standards and Products for the NASA Directory Service. A Directory is a database of people, devices and services that is available to end-users and applications. This architecture is a documented framework of technologies, standards and processes that enables the creation and maintenance of this Directory and its subsequent organization and implementation into a Directory Service. This architecture addresses Directory Service systems design, implementation and future planning for NASA information technology professionals and management to ensure maximum end-user utility, interoperability and cost advantage.

Applicability.

In 1993, the NASA Electronic Messaging Implementation Group (EMIG), an Intercenter Council for Computer Networking (ICCN) chartered group of messaging system implementers, released a document entitled, "Standard Object Attribute Formats for NASA X.500 Directory Implementations" (also referred to as the "Newell Document" and subsequently released as NASA-Standard-2807, NASA X.500 Directory). This document defined a standard set of X.500 entry attributes and X.500 directory application interfaces that, in effect, established a formal Agency X.500 Directory Service. Since that time, each NASA Center has implemented and operated a production X.500 service based on this document, that provides standard, simplified electronic mail addressing, and a "white pages" locator service for that Center.

The current Directory Service is maintained autonomously by each Center under the overall guidance of the Postmasters Working Group (PWG), an evolution of the EMIG. Each Center is responsible for system hardware and software operation and for the processes involved in the population and maintenance of the information contained in the Directory.

Over the years, like most large enterprises, NASA had accumulated many disparate islands of directories or "name spaces". These include legacy mainframe and mini-computer office automation environments (e.g., PROFS, All-In-One, DG CEO), Local Area Network (LAN)/File based mail systems (e.g., Lotus cc:Mail, Microsoft Mail, QuickMail), legacy Network Operating Systems (NOS) environments (e.g., Novell, Microsoft, Banyan) and many independently developed database applications (e.g., Personnel, Payroll, Accounting, and Badging). Each of these systems contains a list of users - a name space, a directory.

Despite these disparities, the existing NASA X.500 Directory Service provides a useful, single-image, unified name space for the NASA end-user community. Again, the basic enabling functionality of the current NASA X.500 Directory Service is simplified electronic mail addressing and a rudimentary locator service, accessible via multiple application mechanisms. More importantly, the current NASA Directory Service provides a platform from which to mature the NASA Directory Service into a core component of the emerging consolidated, standards-based NASA Information Technology (IT) infrastructure.