<pre>Network Working Group                 The North American Directory Forum
Request for Comments: 1255                                September 1991
Obsoletes:  RFC <a href="./rfc1218">1218</a>


                        <span class="h1">A Naming Scheme for c=US</span>

Status of this Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
   not specify an Internet standard.  Distribution of this memo is
   unlimited.

Summary

   This RFC is a near-verbatim copy of a document, known as NADF-175,
   which has been produced by the North American Directory Forum (NADF).
   The NADF is a collection of organizations which offer, or plan to
   offer, public Directory services in North America, based on the CCITT
   X.500 Recommendations.  As a part of its charter, the NADF must reach
   agreement as to how entries are named in the public portions of the
   North American Directory.  NADF-175 represents the NADF's agreement
   in this area.

Table of Contents

   <a href="#section-1">1</a> Introduction ..........................................    <a href="#page-2">2</a>
   <a href="#section-2">2</a> Approach ..............................................    <a href="#page-2">2</a>
   <a href="#section-2.1">2.1</a> Names and User-Friendliness .........................    <a href="#page-3">3</a>
   <a href="#section-2.2">2.2</a> Choice of RDN Names .................................    <a href="#page-3">3</a>
   <a href="#section-2.3">2.3</a> Outline of the Scheme ...............................    <a href="#page-4">4</a>
   <a href="#section-3">3</a> The Naming Process ....................................    <a href="#page-4">4</a>
   <a href="#section-3.1">3.1</a> Right-To-Use ........................................    <a href="#page-4">4</a>
   <a href="#section-3.2">3.2</a> Registration ........................................    <a href="#page-6">6</a>
   <a href="#section-3.3">3.3</a> Publication .........................................    <a href="#page-6">6</a>
   <a href="#section-4">4</a> Structuring Objects ...................................    <a href="#page-7">7</a>
   <a href="#section-4.1">4.1</a> The National Level ..................................    <a href="#page-7">7</a>
   <a href="#section-4.2">4.2</a> The Regional Level ..................................    <a href="#page-7">7</a>
   <a href="#section-4.3">4.3</a> The Local Level .....................................    <a href="#page-9">9</a>
   <a href="#section-4.4">4.4</a> ADDMD Operators .....................................   <a href="#page-10">10</a>
   <a href="#section-4.5">4.5</a> Summary of Structuring Objects ......................   <a href="#page-11">11</a>
   <a href="#section-5">5</a> Entity Objects ........................................   <a href="#page-12">12</a>
   <a href="#section-5.1">5.1</a> Organizations .......................................   <a href="#page-12">12</a>
   <a href="#section-5.1.1">5.1.1</a> Kinds of Organizations ............................   <a href="#page-12">12</a>
   <a href="#section-5.1.2">5.1.2</a> Modeling Organizations ............................   <a href="#page-13">13</a>
   <a href="#section-5.2">5.2</a> Persons .............................................   <a href="#page-14">14</a>
   <a href="#section-6">6</a> Listing Entities ......................................   <a href="#page-15">15</a>
   <a href="#section-6.1">6.1</a> Organizations .......................................   <a href="#page-15">15</a>



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   <a href="#section-6.2">6.2</a> Persons .............................................   <a href="#page-16">16</a>
   <a href="#section-7">7</a> Usage Examples ........................................   <a href="#page-17">17</a>
   <a href="#section-7.1">7.1</a> Organizations with National-Standing ................   <a href="#page-17">17</a>
   <a href="#section-7.2">7.2</a> Organizations with Regional-Standing ................   <a href="#page-18">18</a>
   <a href="#section-7.3">7.3</a> Organizations with Local-Standing ...................   <a href="#page-19">19</a>
   <a href="#section-7.4">7.4</a> Organizations with Foreign-Standing .................   <a href="#page-20">20</a>
   <a href="#section-7.5">7.5</a> Persons .............................................   <a href="#page-21">21</a>
   <a href="#section-8">8</a> Bibliography ..........................................   <a href="#page-22">22</a>
   <a href="#appendix-A">Appendix A</a>: Revision History of this Scheme .............   <a href="#page-22">22</a>
   Security Considerations .................................   <a href="#page-25">25</a>
   Author's Address ........................................   <a href="#page-25">25</a>

                         A Naming Scheme for c=US
                    The North American Directory Forum
                  Supercedes: NADF-166, 143, 123, 103, 71
                               July 12, 1991

<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-1" href="#section-1">1</a>.  Introduction</span>

   Computer networks form the infrastructure between the users they
   interconnect, and networks are built on an underlying naming and
   numbering infrastructure, usually in the form of names and addresses.
   For example, some authority must exist to assign network addresses to
   ensure that numbering collisions do not occur.  This is of paramount
   importance for an environment which consists of multiple service
   providers.

<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-2" href="#section-2">2</a>.  Approach</span>

   It should be observed that there are several different naming
   universes that could be used in the Directory Information Tree (DIT).
   For example, geographical naming, community naming, political naming,
   organizational naming, and so on.  The choice of naming universe
   largely determines the difficulty in mapping a user's query into a
   series of Directory operations to find useful information.  Although
   it is possible to simultaneously support multiple naming universes
   with the DIT, this is likely to be unnatural.  As such, this scheme
   focuses on a single naming universe.

   The naming universe in this scheme is based on civil authority.  That
   is, it uses the existing civil naming infrastructure and suggests a
   (nearly) straight-forward mapping on the DIT.  An important
   characteristic is that entries can be listed wherever searches for
   them are likely to occur.  This implies that a single object may be
   listed as several separate entries.






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<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-2.1" href="#section-2.1">2.1</a>.  Names and User-Friendliness</span>

   It must be emphasized that there are two distinct concepts which are
   often confused when discussing a naming scheme:

           (1)   user-friendly naming:
                 a property of a Directory which allows users to easily
                 identity objects of interest; and,


           (2)   Distinguished Name:
                 the administratively assigned name for an entry in the
                 OSI Directory.

   It must be emphasized that Distinguished Names are not necessarily
   user-friendly names, and further, that user-friendly naming in the
   Directory is a property of the Directory Service, not of
   Distinguished Names.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-2.2" href="#section-2.2">2.2</a>.  Choice of RDN Names</span>

   The key aspect to appreciate for choice of RDNs is that they should
   provide a large name space to avoid collisions: the naming strategy
   must provide enough "real estate" to accommodate a large demand for
   Distinguished Names.  This is the primary requirement for RDNs.  A
   secondary requirement is that RDNs should be meaningful (friendly to
   people) and should not impede searching.

   However, it is important to understand that this second requirement
   can be achieved by using additional (non- distinguished) attribute
   values.  For example, if the RDN of an entry is

      organizationName is Performance Systems International

   then it is perfectly acceptable (and indeed desirable) to have other
   values for the "organizationName" attribute, e.g.,

      organizationName is PSI

   The use of these abbreviated names greatly aids searching whilst
   avoiding unnecessary Distinguished Name conflicts.

   In order to appreciate the naming scheme which follows, it is
   important to understand that wherever possible it leverages existing
   naming infrastructure.  That is, it relies heavily on non-OSI naming
   authorities which already exist.  Note that inasmuch as it relies on
   existing naming authorities, there is little chance that any "final"
   national decision could obsolete this scheme.  (Any naming scheme may



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   be subject to the jurisdiction of certain national agencies.  For
   example, the US State Department is concerned with any impact on US
   telecommunications treaty obligations.) To do so would require a
   national decision that disregards existing national and regional
   infrastructure, and establishes some entirely new and different
   national naming infrastructure.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-2.3" href="#section-2.3">2.3</a>.  Outline of the Scheme</span>

   The naming scheme is divided into four parts:

           (1)   a discussion of the right-to-use, registration, and
                 publication concepts;

           (2)   a discussion of objects with national, regional, local,
                 and foreign standing;

           (3)   a discussion of objects which may be listed at
                 national, regional, and local levels; and,

           (4)   a discussion of how RDNs are formed for listing entries
                 at each different level.

<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-3" href="#section-3">3</a>.  The Naming Process</span>

   There are three stages to the naming process.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-3.1" href="#section-3.1">3.1</a>.  Right-To-Use</span>

   First, a naming authority must establish the right-to-use for any
   name to be used, within the jurisdiction of the given naming
   authority.  Names that are used in public are generally constrained
   by public laws.  Names that are only used in private are a private
   matter.  We are primarily concerned here with public names because
   these are the names that are most interesting to enter into public
   directories where we can search for them.

   There is a global governmental/civil/organizational infrastructure
   already in place to name and number things like people, cars, houses,
   buildings and streets; localities like populated places, cities,
   counties, states, and countries; organizations like businesses,
   schools, and governments; and other entities like computers,
   printers, ports, routers, processes, files, filesystems, networks,
   management domains, and so on.  There are also naming (and numbering)
   authorities for various standards and for networks (e.g., ISO/IEC,
   CCITT, IANA) which depend on acceptance by their constituent
   communities for their authority.




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   This collective infrastructure is comprised of a very large number of
   authorities that we will call naming authorities.  Naming authorities
   tend toward hierarchical organization.  Parents have authority
   (granted by government) to choose the names of new-born children, the
   courts have authority to change a person's name, car makers have
   authority to name the models of cars they build (within the limits of
   trademarking law), and they are obligated to assign unique serial
   numbers to each car.  Cities assign names to their streets and
   districts, states assign city, county, and township names, and so on.
   State governments also assign names to "registered" organizations
   that operate under state charters, which in turn name their own
   suborganizations.  Cities and Counties license businesses to use
   their chosen (unambiguous) names "in association with" the city and
   county names.  Companies name and number the computers and
   communications devices they make and sell.  There are many many name
   spaces, some of which are subordinate to others, and some of which
   are independent.

   Public names must be "registered" in some "public record" to record
   the fact of the assignment of the right-to-use to specific "owners."
   In general, this is to prevent collisions of the right-to-use
   assignments in public shared name spaces.  For example, unique names
   given to corporations are registered by the state of incorporation.
   A request to use a new name for any corporation must not conflict
   with the name of any other corporation registered in the same state.
   The same applies for businesses licensed within cities and counties.

   Establishment of the right-to-use for a name is not a Directory
   Service.  The right-to-use for a name is always derived from some
   other (non-directory) source of authority because of the legal
   aspects of intellectual property rights which are entirely outside
   the scope of directory service specifications.  People and
   organizations attach great value to the names they are allowed to
   associate with their lives and businesses, and intellectual property
   law protects their interests with respect to these values.

   This is not to say that directory service designers and providers
   have no interest in the processes and procedures for establishment of
   the right-to-use for the names that will be entered into any
   directory.  Indeed, without a supply of rightfully-usable names,
   there cannot be any directory.  But, given an adequate supply of
   registered names, the directory service is not otherwise concerned.

   We should note here that some naming authorities must deal with name
   spaces that are shared among large communities (such as computer
   networks) in which collisions will occur among applicants for desired
   name assignments, while other name spaces (such as for given names of
   children in a family) are not shared outside the family.  Sharing is



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   always a problem, which has led to trademarking laws, business
   license laws, and so on.  Naming within organizations should be
   easier, because it is "in the family," so to speak.  Hierarchical
   naming schemes facilitate distribution of naming authority.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-3.2" href="#section-3.2">3.2</a>.  Registration</span>

   Second, a name may be bound (as a value) to some object attribute.

   Given the right to use a name, a Naming Authority, such as a family
   which has an inherited surname and, more or less, has the right to
   use any names it pleases for its children's given names, must bind
   selected names to selected object attributes (e.g., firstname=Einar).
   Note that this same name might also be used as the first name or
   middle name of other children, as long as each sequence of given
   names of each family member is distinguished (i.e., none are
   duplicates) within the family.  Wise families do not bind the same
   sequence of given names to more than one child.  Some avoid any
   multiple use of a single name.  Some use generational qualifiers to
   prevent parent-child conflicts.

   The Internet Domain Name System (DNS) names top level domains which
   are then free (within some technical limits) to chose and bind names
   to entries which are subordinate to a given named domain, and so
   forth down the DNS name tree.  The ISO/CCITT naming system serves the
   same purposes in other separate name spaces.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-3.3" href="#section-3.3">3.3</a>.  Publication</span>

   Third, after binding, a name must be advertised or published in some
   community if it is to be referenced by others.  If it is not
   advertised or published, then no one can refer to it.

   This publication stage is what the Directory Service is all about.
   The Directory contains entries for "listed" names (or numbers) that
   are bound to the attributes of the entries in the directory DIT.
   Historically speaking, the directory business is a subclass of the
   publishing business, serving to dereference names into knowledge
   about what they stand for.

   It is important to keep in mind that a directory "listing entry" is
   not a "registration" unless a particular segment of the directory
   also just happens to be the authoritative master register of some
   naming authority.  Registration and listing are very different
   service functions, though it is conceivable that they might be
   combined in a single DIT.

   For example, in the United States of America, each state name is



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   registered by the Congress by inclusion of the name in the
   legislation that "admits each State into the Union." Note however
   that the name is also then published in many places (such as on maps
   and in directories), while the master "register" is kept with the
   other original records of laws enacted by the Congress and signed by
   the President.  Also, the name is then entered (listed) in many
   directories, in association with the name "The United States of
   America." And so on down the civil naming tree, with entities named
   in each state, etc.  It is certainly not the case that the American
   National Standards Institute (ANSI) registers the names of the States
   in the United States of America!  That right and duty is clearly
   reserved to the Government of the United States of America.

   On the other hand, in the Internet DNS, the act of inserting a given
   rightfully-usable name and address entry into a nameserver
   constitutes simultaneous registration and directory publication.

<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-4" href="#section-4">4</a>.  Structuring Objects</span>

   The first step in providing a civil naming infrastructure is to model
   the geographical/governmental entities which provide a basis for the
   assignment of public names.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-4.1" href="#section-4.1">4.1</a>.  The National Level</span>

   The nation is modeled with an object of class "country", subordinate
   to the root of the DIT, and has an RDN consisting of a single
   attribute value assertion:

            countryName= US

   The entry (minimally) contains these attributes:

            objectClass= country
            description= United States of America

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-4.2" href="#section-4.2">4.2</a>.  The Regional Level</span>

   Within the nation, there are regions.  Each region corresponds to a
   state or state-equivalent as recognized by the US Congress.  The list
   of these is maintained in US FIPS 5.  A sample entry from this FIPS
   document looks like this:









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          +------------+---------+-------+
          |            |  State  | State |
          |  FIPS-5    | Numeric | Alpha |
          |   Name     |  Code   | Code  |
          +------------+---------+-------+
          |            |         |       |
          | California |   06    |  CA   |
          |            |         |       |
          +------------+---------+-------+

          Each region is modeled with an object of class
          "usStateOrEquivalent", which is defined thusly:

             usStateOrEquivalent OBJECT-CLASS
                SUBCLASS OF locality, nadfObject
                MUST CONTAIN { localityName,
                               fipsStateNumericCode,
                               fipsStateAlphaCode,
                               stateOrProvinceName }



          Each entry is subordinate to "c=US", and has an RDN consisting
          of a single attribute value assertion:

            stateOrProvinceName= &lt;FIPS-5 name&gt;

          e.g.,

            stateOrProvinceName= California


          Each entry (minimally) contains these attributes:

            objectClass= usStateOrEquivalent
            description= &lt;official name of region&gt;
            localityName= &lt;FIPS-5 name&gt;
            localityName= &lt;FIPS-5 state alpha code&gt;
            fipsStateAlphaCode= &lt;FIPS-5 state alpha code&gt;
            fipsStateNumericCode= &lt;FIPS-5 state numeric code&gt;

          e.g.,

            objectClass= usStateOrEquivalent
            description= State of California
            localityName= California
            localityName= CA
            fipsStateAlphaCode= CA



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            fipsStateNumericCode= 06

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-4.3" href="#section-4.3">4.3</a>.  The Local Level</span>

   Within each region, there are places.  Each place corresponds to a
   county or county-equivalent as recognized by the regional government.
   The list of these is maintained in US FIPS 55 as a populated place
   with a five-digit numeric place code starting with "99." A sample
   entry from this FIPS document looks like this:

      +---------+---------+-------+-----+----------------------+-----+
      |  State  |  Place  | State |     |                      |     |
      | Numeric | Numeric | Alpha |     |        FIPS-55       |     |
      |  Code   |  Code   | Code  |     |         Name         |     |
      +---------+---------+-------+-----+----------------------+-----+
      |         |         |       |     |                      |     |
      |   06    |  99085  |  CA   | ... | Santa Clara (County) | ... |
      |         |         |       |     |                      |     |
      +---------+---------+-------+-----+----------------------+-----+

      (Any parenthetical text in the FIPS-55 name is considered a
      "remark" about the place.)


          Each county is modeled with an object of class
          "usCountyOrEquivalent", which is defined thusly:

            usPlace OBJECT-CLASS
                SUBCLASS OF locality, nadfObject
                MUST CONTAIN { localityName,
                               fipsPlaceNumericCode }

            usCountyOrEquivalent OBJECT-CLASS
                SUBCLASS OF usPlace
                MUST CONTAIN { fipsCountyNumericCode }

          Each entry is subordinate to the entry naming the region which
          contains the county, and has an RDN consisting of a single
          attribute value assertion:

            localityName= &lt;FIPS-55 name without remarks&gt;

          e.g.,

            localityName= Santa Clara


          Each entry (minimally) contains these attributes:



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            objectClass= usCountyOrEquivalent
            fipsPlaceNumericCode= &lt;FIPS-55 place numeric code&gt;
            fipsCountyNumericCode= &lt;last three digits of FIPS-55
                                    place code&gt;
            stateOrProvinceName= &lt;FIPS-55 state alpha code&gt;
            stateOrProvinceName= &lt;FIPS-5 corresponding name&gt;
            description= &lt;FIPS-55 name with remarks&gt;

          e.g.,

            objectClass= usCountyOrEquivalent
            fipsPlaceNumericCode= 99085
            fipsCountyNumericCode= 085
            stateOrProvinceName= California
            stateOrProvinceName= CA
            description= County of Santa Clara

          In addition, for each populated place named within the county,
          a non-distinguished "localityName" attribute value may be
          present to aid searching, e.g.,

            localityName= Mountain View
            localityName= San Jose

          and so on.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-4.4" href="#section-4.4">4.4</a>.  ADDMD Operators</span>

   Also within the nation, there are public Directory service providers.
   Each service-provider corresponds to an ADDMD operator as recognized
   by the NADF.  Each ADDMD operator is modeled with an object of class
   "nadfADDMD", which is defined thusly:

            nadfADDMD OBJECT-CLASS
                SUBCLASS OF nadfObject
                MUST CONTAIN { addmdName }
                MAY CONTAIN { organizationName,
                              organizationalAttributeSet }

   Each entry is subordinate to "c=US", and has an RDN consisting of a
   single attribute value assertion:

            addmdName= &lt;NADF registered name&gt;

          e.g.,

            addmdName= PSINet




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          Each entry (minimally) contains this attribute:

            objectClass= nadfADDMD

   The structure of the subtree below each "nadfADDMD" entry is a matter
   for that service-provider to establish.  It must be emphasized that
   such entries are used to provide a "private" namespace for each
   service provider, as envisioned in NADF-128.  This "nadfADDMD" entry
   is distinct from a service provider's "organization" entry which
   would be used to contain organizational information about the service
   provider.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-4.5" href="#section-4.5">4.5</a>.  Summary of Structuring Objects</span>

   To summarize the naming architecture thus far:

+---------------+-----+---------------------+-----+--------------------+
|      Level    |Elem |     objectClass     |Supr |        RDN         |
+---------------+-----+---------------------+-----+--------------------+
|          root |  0  |                     |     |                    |
+---------------+-----+---------------------+-----+--------------------+
| international |  1  | country             |  0  | countryName        |
+---------------+-----+---------------------+-----+--------------------+
|      national |  2  | usStateOrEquivalent |  1  | stateOrProvinceName|
|               |  3  | nadfADDMD           |  1  | addmdName          |
+---------------+-----+---------------------+-----+--------------------+
|      regional |  4  | usCountyOrEquivalent|  2  | localityName       |
+---------------+-----+---------------------+-----+--------------------+
|         local |  5  | ...                 |  4  | ...                |
+---------------+-----+---------------------+-----+--------------------+

          Or, in pictorial form:



















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                                                  root
                                                   /
                                                  /
                                                 /
                                             (----)
                                             (c=US)
                                             (----)
                                              / | \
                                             /  |  \
                               /------------/   |   \------\
                              /                 |           \
        for each state or (------)             / \     (---------) for
         state-equivalent (st=...)            /   \    (addmd=...) each
                          (------)           /     \   (---------) ADDMD
                           /    \           /       \
                          /      \         /national \
            /------------/        \       / listings  \
           /                       \      -------------
          /                         \
       (-----) for each             /\
       (l=...) county or           /  \
       (-----) county-equivalent  /    \
          |                      /      \
          |                     /regional\
          |                    / listings \
          |                    ------------
         / \
        /   \
       /     \
      / local \
     /listings \
     -----------


<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-5" href="#section-5">5</a>.  Entity Objects</span>

   The next step in using the civil naming infrastructure is to model
   the entities which reside within the geographical/governmental
   structure.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.1" href="#section-5.1">5.1</a>.  Organizations</span>

   Organizations exist at several levels.

<span class="h4"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.1.1" href="#section-5.1.1">5.1.1</a>.  Kinds of Organizations</span>

   An organization is said to have national-standing if it is chartered
   (created and named) by the US Congress. An example of such an



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   organization might be a national laboratory.  There is no other
   entity which is empowered by government to confer national-standing
   on organizations.  However, ANSI maintains an alphanumeric nameform
   registration for organizations, and this will be used as the public
   directory service basis for conferring national-standing on private
   organizations.

   An organization is said to have regional-standing if it is chartered
   by the government of that region.  An example of such an organization
   might be a public university.  In addition, private organizations may
   achieve regional-standing by registering with the "Secretary of
   State" (or similar entity) within that region -- this is termed a
   "doing business as" (DBA) registration.

                                   NOTE:

         An organization may have a DBA registration in several states,
         even though it is incorporated in only one state.  Where an
         organization registers itself is largely dependent on where it
         might choose to incorporate, and where it might choose to
         locate (and license) its business operations.

         For example, a large organization might have a DBA registration
         in most of the 50 states, and be incorporated in Delaware.  For
         the purposes of this naming scheme, such an organization is
         said to have regional-standing in each state where it has a DBA
         registration.  This DBA registration confers the sole right to
         use the DBA name in association with the named jurisdiction of
         the registration authority.

   An organization is said to have local-standing if it is chartered by
   a local government within that place.  In addition, private
   organizations may achieve local-standing by registering with a
   "County Clerk" (or similar entity) within that place -- this is
   termed a "doing business as" (DBA) registration.  Note that local-
   standing is somewhat ambiguous in that there may be multiple local
   governments contained within a county or county-equivalent.
   Depending on local government rules of incorporation and containment,
   registering with one entity may prevent others from registering that
   same name with other entities contained within that place.  In order
   to avoid ambiguity, other distinguishing attributes, such as
   "streetAddress", may be needed to provide uniqueness.

<span class="h4"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.1.2" href="#section-5.1.2">5.1.2</a>.  Modeling Organizations</span>

   In the DIT, an organization is modeled with an object of
   class "organization".  In addition, some combination of the
   following auxiliary object classes might also be used:



<span class="grey">NADF                                                           [Page 13]</span></pre>
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           (1)   if an organization has national-standing derived from
                 ANSI registration, then this is modeled by including in
                 the entry an object class attribute value of
                 "ansiOrgObject", which is defined thusly:

                   ansiOrgObject OBJECT-CLASS
                       SUBCLASS OF top
                       MUST CONTAIN { ansiOrgNumericCode }


           (2)   if an organization has national-standing (either in the
                 US or some other nation), then it may be necessary to
                 identify the country which corresponds to the registry
                 which names the organization.  This is modeled by
                 including in the entry an object class attribute value
                 of "nationalObject", which is defined thusly:

                   nationalObject OBJECT-CLASS
                       SUBCLASS OF top
                       MUST CONTAIN { countryName }


           (3)   if an organization has local-standing, then it may be
                 necessary to identify the place in US FIPS 55 which
                 corresponds to the registry which names the
                 organization.  This is modeled by including in the
                 entry an object class attribute value of
                 "fips55Object", which is defined thusly:

                   fips55Object OBJECT-CLASS
                       SUBCLASS OF top
                       MUST CONTAIN { fipsPlaceNumericCode }
                       MAY CONTAIN { stateOrProvinceName }

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-5.2" href="#section-5.2">5.2</a>.  Persons</span>

   There are two kinds of entries for a person: organizational person
   and residential person.

   Definitions for an organizational person are a local matter to be
   decided by each organization.  It is suggested that an organizational
   person be modeled with an object of class "organizationalPerson".

   Outside of organizations, persons exist only in a residential context.
   As such they always have local standing.  For a given person, it
   should always be possible to identify the place in US FIPS 55 which
   corresponds to the "smallest" populated place where any person
   resides, and then use the code associated with that place to aid in



<span class="grey">NADF                                                           [Page 14]</span></pre>
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   distinguishing the person.  A residential person is modeled with an
   object of class "residentialPerson".  In addition, since it may be
   necessary to identify the place in US FIPS 55 which corresponds
   to where the person resides, an object class attribute value
   of "fips55Object" may be present in entries corresponding to
   residential persons.

<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-6" href="#section-6">6</a>.  Listing Entities</span>

   The final step is to define how entities are listed within the
   context of the civil naming infrastructure.  Note than an entity may
   have several listings (DNs) in different parts of the Directory.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-6.1" href="#section-6.1">6.1</a>.  Organizations</span>

   The RDN used when listing an organization depends on both the
   standing of the organization, and where the listing is to be placed:

                              +----------------------------------------+
          +-------------------|        Listing (RDN) under             |
          |      Entity       |  c=US   | c=US, st=X | c=US, st=X, l=Y |
          +-------------------+---------+------------+-----------------+
          | national-standing | o       | o, c=US    | o, c=US         |
          +-------------------+---------+------------+-----------------+
          | regional-standing | o, st=X | o          | o               |
          +-------------------+---------+------------+-----------------+
          | .. (other region) |         | o, st=Z    | o, st=Z         |
          +-------------------+---------+------------+-----------------+
          |    local-standing | o, st=X | o, fips55  | o, fips55       |
          |                   | fips55  |            |                 |
          +-------------------+---------+------------+-----------------+
          | .. (other region) |         | o, st=Z    | o, st=Z, fips55 |
          |                   |         | fips55     |                 |
          +-------------------+---------+------------+-----------------+
          |  foreign-standing | o, ...  | o, ..., c  | o, ..., c       |
          |                   | c       |            |                 |
          +-------------------+---------+------------+-----------------+

          This scheme makes no requirements on the DIT structure within
          an organization.  However, the following naming architecture
          is suggested:










<span class="grey">NADF                                                           [Page 15]</span></pre>
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+----------------+-----+----------------------+----------+-------------+
|      Level     |Elem |     objectClass      |  Super   |        RDN  |
+----------------+-----+----------------------+----------+-------------+
|        listing | 11  | organization         |   1,2,4  |             |
+----------------+-----+----------------------+----------+-------------+
| organizational | 12  | organizationalUnit   | 11,12,13 | orgUnitName |
|                | 13  | locality             | 11,12,13 | localityName|
|                | 14  | organizationalRole   | 11,12,13 | commonName  |
|                | 15  | organizationalPerson | 11,12,13 | commonName  |
+----------------+-----+----------------------+----------+-------------+
|    application | 16  | applicationProcess   | 11,12,13 | commonName  |
|                | 17  | nadfApplicationEntity|    16    | commonName  |
|                | 18  | groupOfNames         | 11,12,13 | commonName  |
|                | 19  | ediUser              | 11,12,13 | ediName     |
|                | 20  | device               | 11,12,13 | commonName  |
+----------------+-----+----------------------+----------+-------------+

          Or, in pictorial form:

          (------------)
          (organization)
          (------------)
                |
                |&lt;------------------------------+
                |                               |
                +---&gt;(organizationalUnit)-------+
                |                               |
                +---&gt;(locality)-----------------+
                |
                +---&gt;(organizationalRole)
                |
                +---&gt;(organizationalPerson)
                |
                +---&gt;(applicationProcess)---&gt;(nadfApplicationEntity)
                |
                +---&gt;(groupOfNames)
                |
                +---&gt;(ediUser)
                |
                +---&gt;(device)


<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-6.2" href="#section-6.2">6.2</a>.  Persons</span>

   Listing organizational persons is a local matter to be decided by
   each organization.

   Residential persons are identified by the place where they reside,



<span class="grey">NADF                                                           [Page 16]</span></pre>
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   usually with a multi-valued RDN consisting of a "commonName"
   attribute value, and some other distinguished attribute value.
   Although an obvious choice is to use something like "postalCode" or
   "streetAddress", it should be noted that this information may be
   considered private.  Hence, some other, distinguishing attribute
   value may be used -- possibly even a "serial number" attribute value
   which has no other purpose other than to give uniqueness.  (It should
   be noted that an attribute of this kind is not helpful in regards to
   searching -- other attribute values containing meaningful information
   should be added to the entry and made available for public access, as
   an aid to selection.)

   The RDN used when listing residential persons depends on where the
   listing is to be placed:

                              +----------------------------------------+
          +-------------------|        Listing (RDN) under             |
          |      Entity       |  c=US   | c=US, st=X | c=US, st=X, l=Y |
          +-------------------+---------+------------+-----------------+
          |       residential | cn, ... | cn, ...    | cn, ..., fips55 |
          |            person | st=X    | fips55     |                 |
          |                   | fips55  |            |                 |
          +-------------------+---------+------------+-----------------+
          | .. (other region) |         | cn, ...    | cn, ..., st=Z   |
          |                   |         | st=Z       | fips55          |
          |                   |         | fips55     |                 |
          +-------------------+---------+------------+-----------------+

          Note that listing of foreign persons is for further study.

<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-7" href="#section-7">7</a>.  Usage Examples</span>

   In the examples which follow, the "*"-character is used to denote any
   arbitrary value for an attribute type.

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-7.1" href="#section-7.1">7.1</a>.  Organizations with National-Standing</span>

   Suppose that the organization

      Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

   has national-standing by virtue of having been chartered by the US
   Congress.  According to the table in <a href="#section-6.1">Section 6.1</a>, this organization
   has the right to list as any (or all) of these names:

       (1)   national-listing:

               { c=US,



<span class="grey">NADF                                                           [Page 17]</span></pre>
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                       o=Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory }


       (2)   regional-listing:

               { c=US, st=*,
                       { o=Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,
                         c=US } }


       (3)   local-listing:

               { c=US, st=*, l=*,
                       { o=Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,
                         c=US } }

   Suppose that the organization

      Performance Systems International, Inc.

   has national-standing by virtue of having an alphanumeric nameform in
   the ANSI registry.  According to the table in <a href="#section-6.1">Section 6.1</a>, this
   organization has the right to list as any (or all) of these names:

        (1)   national-listing:

                { c=US, o=Performance Systems International }


        (2)   regional-listing:
                 { c=US, st=*,
                        { o=Performance Systems International, c=US } }


        (3)   local-listing:

                 { c=US, st=*, l=*,
                        { o=Performance Systems International, c=US } }

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-7.2" href="#section-7.2">7.2</a>.  Organizations with Regional-Standing</span>

   Suppose that the organization

      Network Management Associates, Inc.

   has regional-standing by virtue of having a DBA registration with the
   Secretary of State for the State of California.  According to the
   table in <a href="#section-6.1">Section 6.1</a>, this organization has the right to list as any



<span class="grey">NADF                                                           [Page 18]</span></pre>
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   (or all) of these names:

           (1)   national-listing:

                   { c=US,
                           { o=Network Management Associates,
                             st=California } }


           (2)   regional-listing:

                   { c=US, st=California,
                           o=Network Management Associates }


           (3)   local-listing:

                   { c=US, st=California, l=*,
                           o=Network Management Associates }

          Further, in some state other than California, this
          organization might also list as:

           (1)   regional-listing:

                   { c=US, st=*,
                           { o=Network Management Associates,
                             st=California } }


           (2)   local-listing:

                   { c=US, st=*, l=*,
                           { o=Network Management Associates,
                             st=California } }

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-7.3" href="#section-7.3">7.3</a>.  Organizations with Local-Standing</span>

   Suppose that the tavern and eatery

      St. James Infirmary

   has local-standing by virtue of having a DBA registration with the
   City Clerk for the City of Mountain View in the State of California.
   According to the table in <a href="#section-6.1">Section 6.1</a>, this organization has the
   right to list as any (or all) of these names:

           (1)   national-listing:



<span class="grey">NADF                                                           [Page 19]</span></pre>
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                   { c=US,
                           { o=St. James Infirmary, st=California,
                             fips55=49670 } }


           (2)   regional-listing:

                   { c=US, st=California,
                           { o=St. James Infirmary, fips55=49670 } }


           (3)   local-listing:

                   { c=US, st=California, l=*,
                           { o=St. James Infirmary, fips55=49670 } }

          Further, in some state other than California, this
          organization might also list as:

           (1)   regional-listing:

                   { c=US, st=*,
                           { o=St. James Infirmary, st=California,
                             fips55=49670 } }


           (2)   local-listing:

                   { c=US, st=*, l=*,
                           { o=St. James Infirmary, st=California,
                             fips55=49670 } }

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-7.4" href="#section-7.4">7.4</a>.  Organizations with Foreign-Standing</span>

   Suppose that the five-star restaurant

      Erik's Fisk

   has foreign-standing by virtue of having a DBA registration
   throughout Sweden.  According to the table in <a href="#section-6.1">Section 6.1</a>, this
   organization has the right to list as any (or all) of these names:

           (1)   national-listing:

                   { c=US,
                           { o=Erik's Fisk, c=SE } }





<span class="grey">NADF                                                           [Page 20]</span></pre>
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           (2)   regional-listing:

                   { c=US, st=*,
                           { o=Erik's Fisk, c=SE } }


           (3)   local-listing:

                   { c=US, st=*, l=*,
                           { o=Erik's Fisk, c=SE } }

<span class="h3"><a class="selflink" id="section-7.5" href="#section-7.5">7.5</a>.  Persons</span>

   Suppose that the person

      Marshall T. Rose

   residing in the City of Mountain View in the State of California,
   wishes to be listed in the Directory.  According to the table in
   <a href="#section-6.2">Section 6.2</a>, this person might be listed as any of these names:

       (1)   national-listing:

               { c=US,
                       { cn=Marshall T. Rose, postalCode=94043-2112,
                         st=California, fips55=49670 } }


       (2)   regional-listing:

               { c=US, st=California,
                       { cn=Marshall T. Rose, postalCode=94043-2112,
                         fips55=49670 } }


       (3)   local-listing:

               { c=US, st=California, l=Santa Clara,
                       { cn=Marshall T. Rose, postalCode=94043-2112 } }

      Further, in some state other than California, this person
      might also list as:

       (1)   regional-listing:

               { c=US, st=*,
                       { cn=Marshall T. Rose, postalCode=94043-2112,
                         st=California, fips55=49670 } }



<span class="grey">NADF                                                           [Page 21]</span></pre>
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       (2)   local-listing:

               { c=US, st=*, l=*,
                       { cn=Marshall T. Rose, postalCode=94043-2112,
                         st=California, fips55=49670 } }

<span class="h2"><a class="selflink" id="section-8" href="#section-8">8</a>.  Bibliography</span>

          X.500:
            The Directory -- Overview of Concepts, Models, and Service,
            CCITT Recommendation X.500, December, 1988.

          US FIPS 5:
            Codes for the Identification of the States, The District of
            Columbia and Outlying Areas of the United States, and
            Associated Areas, US Department of Commerce FIPS 5-2, May
            28, 1987.

          US FIPS 55:
            Guideline: Codes for Named Populated Places, Primary County
            Divisions, and other Locational Entities of the United
            States and Outlying Areas, US Department of Commerce FIPS
            55-2, February 3, 1987.

Appendix A: Revision History of this Scheme

   The first version of this scheme (NADF-71) was contributed to the
   North American Directory Forum at its November 27-30, 1990 meeting.
   The (mis)features were:

           (1)   Because of the lack of confidence in ANSI registration
                 procedures, it was proposed that the US trademarks be
                 used as the basis for RDNs of organizations with
                 national-standing.
                 This proved unworkable since the same trademark may be
                 issued to different organizations in different
                 industries.

           (2)   There was no pre-existing registry used for populated
                 places.
                 This proved unworkable since the effort to define a new
                 registry is problematic.

   The second version of this scheme was contributed to the ANSI
   Registration Authority Committee at its January 30, 1991 meeting, and
   the IETF OSI Directory Services Working Group at its February 12-13,
   1991 meeting.  The (mis)features were:




<span class="grey">NADF                                                           [Page 22]</span></pre>
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           (1)   The ANSI numeric name form registry was used as the
                 basis for RDNs of organizations with national
                 standings.

           (2)   The FIPS 5 state numeric code was used as the basis for
                 RDNs of states and state-equivalents.

           (3)   The FIPS 55 place numeric code was used as the basis
                 for RDNs of populated places.

   The choice of numeric rather than alphanumeric name forms was
   unpopular, but was motivated by the desire to avoid using the ANSI
   alphanumeric name form registry, which was perceived as unstable.

   The third version of this scheme was contributed to US State
   Department Study Group D's MHS-MD subcommittee at its March 7-8 1991
   meeting.  That version used alphanumeric name forms for all objects,
   under the perception that the ANSI alphanumeric name form registry
   will prove stable.  If the ANSI alphanumeric name form registry
   proves unstable, then two alternatives are possible:

           (1)   disallow organizations with national-standing in the US
                 portion of the DIT; or,

           (2)   use the ANSI numeric name form registry instead.

   Hopefully neither of these two undesirable alternatives will prove
   necessary.

   The fourth version of this scheme (NADF-103) was contributed to the
   NADF at its March 18-22, 1991 meeting.  This version introduced the
   notion of organizations with regional standing being listed at the
   national level through the use of alias names and multi-valued RDNs.

   The fifth version of this scheme (NADF-123) was produced at the NADF
   meeting (and also published in the Internet community as <a href="./rfc1212">RFC1212</a>).
   This version generalized the listing concept by introducing the
   notion of optimized civil naming.  Further, the document was edited
   to clearly note the different naming sub-structures and the relation
   between them.

   The sixth version of this scheme (NADF-143) was contributed to the
   NADF before its July 9-12, 1991 meeting, and was edited to reflect
   comments received from the Internet and other communities.  The
   changes were:

           (1)   The schema definitions were removed from <a href="#appendix-A">Appendix A</a> and
                 placed in a separate document, NADF-132.  In NADF-132:



<span class="grey">NADF                                                           [Page 23]</span></pre>
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                 the prefix object-identifier was changed (the original
                 assignment was in error); and, the definition of a
                 "nadfADDMD" object was considerably expanded.

           (2)   States and state-equivalents are now named using
                 attribute values of "stateOrProvinceName".

           (3)   Populated places now correspond to counties, though
                 FIPS 55 is still used extensively.

           (4)   The text of this document was reworked to more clearly
                 distinguish between registration and listing.

           (5)   The "foreignOrganization" and "fips55Object" object
                 classes were added.

          The seventh version of this scheme (NADF-166) was produced at
          the NADF meeting.  It made a few changes:

           (1)   It was noted that organizations with local standing may
                 need additional distinguishing attributes when listing.

           (2)   The "usOrganization" object class was removed and
                 replaced with the auxiliary object class
                 "ansiOrgObject".

           (3)   The "foreignOrganization" object class was removed and
                 replaced with the auxiliary object class
                 "nationalObject".  This may be used when listing any
                 organization of national standing (regardless of
                 whether that organization is US-based).  For example,
                 an organization with US national-standing would need
                 this when being listed at the regional or local level.

           (4)   Figures corresponding to the DIT structures were added,
                 along with some minor additional text in the usage
                 examples.

           (5)   The Acknowledgements section, long out of date, was
                 removed.

          The eighth (current) version of this scheme was produced after
          the NADF meeting.  It corrects a few typographical errors.








<span class="grey">NADF                                                           [Page 24]</span></pre>
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Security Considerations

   Security issues are not discussed in this memo.

Author's Address

   North American Directory Forum
   c/o Theodore H. Myer
   Rapport Communication, Inc.
   3055 Q Street NW
   Washington, DC  20007

   Tel: +1 202-342-2727






































NADF                                                           [Page 25]
</pre>