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 normal default value for the reverse address mapping directory in the DECdns directory service is: .DNA_BackTranslation The default directory name can be changed using the preferences form. 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 is: .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.