Reverse address mapping allows a node name to be determined from an address (specifically from an NET). For directory services that support hierarchical naming, this is done by setting up directories and links within those directories, based on the NETs of the nodes in the network. Each link then points to the node name associated with the indicated NET.
1 – DECdns
Soft link names are used to map NETs to their respective node names. The default value for the reverse address mapping directory in the DECdns directory service is: .DNA_BackTranslation If not specified using either of the above methods, the default Phase IV prefix is used. This default can be displayed or changed using the SHOW or SET DEFAULT commands. The directory name can be changed for a single command using the REVERSE_MAPPING parameter, or for all commands using the SET DEFAULT command. There are two more levels of directory under this top level directory, followed by the actual soft link name. The name structure is: .DNA_BackTranslation.<prefix>.<locarea>.<nodeid> Where: <prefix> is the value of the binary NET up to the local area field. <locarea> is the value of the local area field in the binary NET. <nodeid> is the value of the node id field in the binary NET. For example, for an NET of "39:840:00-01:AA-00-04-00-05-04:20", the fully specified soft link name would be: .DNA_BackTranslation.%X39840F.%X0001.%XAA0004000504 The "F" in the second level directory is a padding value that is present in the binary form of the NSAP value, though it is not visible in the user representation.
2 – Local
The Local Naming Database does not make use of reverse address mapping for mapping addresses to names. Instead, addresses are treated as keys within the indexed Local Database file.
3 – Phase IV
The Phase IV Database does not make use of reverse address mapping for mapping addresses to names. Instead, addresses are treated as keys within the indexed Phase IV Database file.