The Namespace
The namespace is the hierarchical set of names of DCE objects. The top levels of the hierarchy are managed by the Directory Service. Some DCE services (currently the Security Service and Distributed File Service (DFS)) manage their own portions of the namespace. Each DCE object in the namespace consists of a name with associated attributes (pieces of information) that describe its characteristics. These objects include resources such as machines or applications.
The namespace contains global namespaces and cell namespaces. A cell namespace includes objects that are registered within a cell. A logical picture of a cell namespace is a hierarchical tree with the cell root directory at the top and one or more levels of directories containing names beneath the cell root. The cell namespace is managed by the Cell Directory Service (CDS) component of the Directory Service. Conversely, the global namespace, as seen from a local DCE cell, contains objects that are registered outside the local cell, such as the names of other cells. The Global Directory Service (GDS) component of the Directory Service manages one part of the global namespace; a non-DCE service called the Domain Name System (DNS) manages another part of the global namespace.
Administrative tools use the namespace to store information and to locate DCE services. DCE services advertise their locations to the namespace. The namespace provides a means of organizing DCE services into manageable groups.