Federated Naming Service

Last updated March 31, 2019

In computing, the Federated Naming Service (FNS) or XFN (X/Open Federated Naming) is a system for uniting various name services under a single interface for the basic naming operations. It is produced by X/Open and included in various Unix operating systems, primarily Solaris versions 2.5 to 9.

Computing is any activity that uses computers. It includes developing hardware and software, and using computers to manage and process information, communicate and entertain. Computing is a critically important, integral component of modern industrial technology. Major computing disciplines include computer engineering, software engineering, computer science, information systems, and information technology.

X/Open Company, Ltd., originally the Open Group for Unix Systems, was a consortium founded by several European UNIX systems manufacturers in 1984 to identify and promote open standards in the field of information technology. More specifically, the original aim was to define a single specification for operating systems derived from UNIX, to increase the interoperability of applications and reduce the cost of porting software. Its original members were Bull, ICL, Siemens, Olivetti, and Nixdorf—a group sometimes referred to as BISON. Philips and Ericsson joined soon afterwards, at which point the name X/Open was adopted.

Solaris is a Unix operating system originally developed by Sun Microsystems. It superseded their earlier SunOS in 1993. In 2010, after the Sun acquisition by Oracle, it was renamed Oracle Solaris.

The purpose of XFN and FNS is to allow applications to use widely heterogeneous naming services (such as NIS, DNS and so on) via a single interface, to avoid duplication of programming effort.

The Network Information Service, or NIS, is a client–server directory service protocol for distributing system configuration data such as user and host names between computers on a computer network. Sun Microsystems developed the NIS; the technology is licensed to virtually all other Unix vendors.

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and decentralized naming system for computers, services, or other resources connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities. Most prominently, it translates more readily memorized domain names to the numerical IP addresses needed for locating and identifying computer services and devices with the underlying network protocols. By providing a worldwide, distributed directory service, the Domain Name System has been an essential component of the functionality of the Internet since 1985.

Unlike the similar LDAP, neither XFN nor FNS were ever popular nor widely used. FNS was last included in Solaris 9 and was not included with Solaris 10.

The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is an open, vendor-neutral, industry standard application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over an Internet Protocol (IP) network. Directory services play an important role in developing intranet and Internet applications by allowing the sharing of information about users, systems, networks, services, and applications throughout the network. As examples, directory services may provide any organized set of records, often with a hierarchical structure, such as a corporate email directory. Similarly, a telephone directory is a list of subscribers with an address and a phone number.

External links and references

Overview of FNS (Solaris 9 man page)
Overview of the XFN interface (Solaris 9 man page)
X/Open Federated Naming - specification for uniform naming interfaces between multiple naming systems (Elizabeth A. Martin, Hewlett-Packard Journal, December 1995)
Federated Naming Service Programming Guide (Sun Microsystems 816–1470–10, September 2002)

A man page is a form of software documentation usually found on a Unix or Unix-like operating system. Topics covered include computer programs, formal standards and conventions, and even abstract concepts. A user may invoke a man page by issuing the man command.

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