MASH: the multicasting Archie server hierarchy

ABSTRACT

The archie[1] system is a replicated, centralized directory server for all Anonymous FTP sites in the Internet. This centralized approach has not scaled well. The march[2] system provides an alternate solution, using IP Multicast to distribute directory queries directly to FTP hosts. march suffers from highly redundant broadcast messages during expanding-disc search. We propose a solution to the problem of multicast flooding during expanding-disc searches by utilizing an automatically-configured hierarchy of query servers. This system, dubbed MASH, confines the multicast flooding primarily to those nodes at the frontier of each new search radius. We provide a mechanism and protocol for building a self-organizing, two-level hierarchy of MASH servers. We also provide an experimental implementation built on march[5].

REFERENCES

• 1: [1] A. Emtage and P. Deutsch. "Archie: An electronic directory service for the Internet." Proceedings of the Winter 1992 Usenix Conference, pages 93-110, January, 1992.
• 2: [2] Kashima, Hiroaki, et. al. "Searching Internet Resources Using IP Multicast." INET '95, August, 1995.
• 3: [3] Rovers, Perry. "Anonymous FTP Frequently Asked Questions List." Copyright 1993-1995, Perry Rovers. FTP Host: rtfm.mit.edu, Directory: /pub/usenet/news.answers/ftp-list/faq.
• 4: S. E. Deering, Host extensions for IP multicasting, RFC Editor, 1989
• 5: [5] Rosenstein, Li, and Tong. "The Multicasting Archie Server Hierarchy." Project Home-Page. URL: http://www.cs.ucla.edu/~adam/mash.html.
• 6: [6] "ns-2: The LBNL Network Simulator," Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, URL: http://www-nrg.ee.lbl.gov/ns/#version2

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.2 COMPUTER-COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
      C.2.1 Network Architecture and Design

          Nouns: Internet

Additional Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.2 COMPUTER-COMMUNICATION NETWORKS

  H. Information Systems
  H.2 DATABASE MANAGEMENT
      H.2.7 Database Administration
          Subjects: Data dictionary/directory

  I. Computing Methodologies
  I.1 SYMBOLIC AND ALGEBRAIC MANIPULATION
      I.1.2 Algorithms
          Subjects: Analysis of algorithms

General Terms:
Algorithms, Design, Management, Measurement, Performance, Standardization, Theory