NSSRs (Re: LAST CALL: draft-ietf-ldapext-referral-00.txt)

[Harald Tveit Alvestrand <Harald.Alvestrand@maxware.no>]

Looking at consequences, here's what I see from my 10.000 foot perspective:

- Either referrals, as specified by this WG, support NSSRs or they do not
- If we support NSSRs now, we will never get rid of them.
- If we do not support NSSRs now, adding support for them will require
  a protocol revision, and possibly changes to the URL format.

If we DO NOT support NSSRs, the consequences are:

- When interworking with networks of X.500 DSAs, the X.500 DSA (or
  rather the LDAP/X.500 gateway) has to chase an NSSR until it becomes
  (possibly a set of) specific referrals.

If we DO support NSSRs, the consequences are:

- LDAP servers can delegate whole subtrees while keeping the base entry
  on the same server.

- LDAP/X.500 gateways get a little easier to write.

My personal preference is for keeping LDAP simple and putting burdens
on the gateways; like David, I think NSSRs are costly in terms of
complexity of the infrastructure and specifications.

                            Harald A

-- 
Harald Tveit Alvestrand, Maxware, Norway
Harald.Alvestrand@maxware.no