RE: iSCSI: Naming and Discovery Team Formed

["Douglas Otis" <dotis@sanlight.net>]

John,

With your technical hat on, if speed is important why re-invent existing
protocols?  Authentication will access a database external to the transport
and devices which will easily provide required addressing.  The SCSI name
server effort is to include text strings within transport management
requests.  This is based on an assumption text is a universal standard
whereas numbers change, i.e. DNS with respect to IP for HTTP.  Is there a
general assumption SCSI will operate in an open and unauthenticated manner
similar to HTTP?  Will there be established a consortium for registering
SCSI names?  As authentication is essential to SCSI access, could you
provide a technical reason for this naming effort?

SCSI standards groups provide unique numbers rather than text strings to
locate media.  The user is the universal standard with respect to
authentication and SCSI unique numbers associated with the user at the time
of authentication defines a numeric path.  A schema within LDAP can provide
these associations and not compromise security as would management text
strings.  Even if the internal network was IB, a number or perhaps several
is always suitable.  What are the problems being solved by this naming
effort?  Why is authentication not being considered first?

Doug

> With my TC Hat on:
> I am announcing the formation of a Naming and Discovery Team.  The team
> members are:
>
> Jack Harwood, Joe Czap, Kaladhar Voruganti, Howard Hall, Mark
> Bakke, Joshua
> Tseng, V.Sairam, Yaron Klein, Lawrence J. Lamers,  &Jim Hafner.
>
> Kaladhar Voruganti will be the Editor, and Lead for the first Draft.
>
> We are all looking forward to their effort, and hope they can do some
> speedy work.
>
> Hat off.
>
> .
> .
> .
> John L. Hufferd
> Senior Technical Staff Member (STSM)
> IBM/SSG San Jose Ca
> (408) 256-0403, Tie: 276-0403
> Internet address: hufferd@us.ibm.com
>