Every DECdns entity has attributes, which are pieces or sets of
 data associated with that entity. Attributes fall into one of four
 categories:

 Characteristics
 Reflect or affect the operational behavior of an entity. Some
 characteristics are static and cannot be modified; others can be
 modified with DNSCP or NCL commands.

 Counters
 Record the number of times a particular event or problem occurred
 since the entity was last enabled.

 Identifiers
 Uniquely distinguish an entity from any other entity.

 Status Attributes
 Reflect the current operational state of an entity.