In message <19980518135928.37530@mcs.net>, Karl Denninger writes:
After several discussions, we came up with this solution that we think works well to support standard services for roaming users:
Support a .local. root domain in your DNS servers. Examples of DNS hostnames would be mail.local., ntp.local., news.local., etc. When a roamer dials up he generally uses the DNS servers assigned by the NAS; these addresses would be authoritative on a provider-by-provider basis. If all networks supported this schema all users could simply have these addresses coded into their client software and would connect to the proper machines as they differ on various networks.
iPass is currently building an Internet-Draft specifying the details of this approach. What do you think?
That doesn't work; too many of those things must be hard-coded numbers (specifically, the DNS servers).
What has to be hard-coded besides the DNS servers? Once you have a DNS server assigned (which is typically done by the NAS anyway) the rest is simple. In our experience, well over 90% of roaming users (which excludes UNIX and Mac users) use dynamically-assigned DNS servers. Clearly this approach won't work for those clients that don't support the LCP extensions, but we consider this "Best Current Practice." Those clients that can't use dynamic DNS server assignment will have to use the home ISP's services. We consider it important to make sure as many NASes and PPP clients as possible support dynamic DNS. About the only major obstacle to that is OT/PPP (MacOS) and, to a lesser degree, UNIX.
.LOCAL along with defined addresses, declared as "non-routable" (ie: local only) *DOES* do the trick.
Routability and IP address definitions are secondary to the problem we're discussing here--the ability for roamers to use local services provided by the POP provider. Let DNS do the work for you. I don't see the need to force IP assignments on the Internet community. --Michael Michael S. Fischer <otterley@iPass.COM> |\ Sr. Systems/Network Administrator, iPass Inc. _O_ | require Std::Disclaimer; | () Voice: +1 650 944 0333 FAX: +1 650 237 7321 | "There's a thin line between love and a crime and collaboration"