Resolution in Internet Identifiers: Towards Context-Awareness and Customisation

Babakian, Andrew Martin

Resolution in Internet Identifiers: Towards Context-Awareness and Customisation

Babakian, Andrew Martin

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Publication Type:: Thesis
Issue Date:: 2024

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Babakian, Andrew Martin
dc.date.accessioned	2024-09-30T05:04:04Z
dc.date.available	2024-09-30T05:04:04Z
dc.date.issued	2024
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/181096
dc.description	University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.description.abstract	Identity systems are the key to any network. Just as a language is defined by a consistent set of symbols and their usage, a network is defined by a consistent set of identities and their usage. For users to find this network useful, they must be able to communicate references using human-friendly names that are easy to remember and be confident that these names refer to the same digital objects in multiple contexts. This is only achievable if names are allocated from a unified namespace and the resolution of the name into network addresses is consistent and coherent. Market competition dynamics for digital presence naturally encourage us to be bound within this unified namespace in the Domain Name System (DNS). Originally, the DNS modelled a telephone directory, a static system published periodically with invariant lookup keys. This directory was non-customisable and uniform for all users, permitting anyone to use the same lookup key and retrieve identical information. One could share a key, and others could access the same database to retrieve identical results, making it possible to refer to entities via their keys. However, with the evolution of the Internet, the concept of identity systems also evolved, and the use of identifiers within the DNS began to shift. In this evolution, one can consider the broader concept of DNS as a marketplace and the identity system as a market. It is not the name that determines the market; rather, it is the behaviour of the name -- its ability to customise and contain attributes beyond its static translation -- that determines the usefulness of the name. This reduces the utility of the objective uniform identifier system. However, we rely on customisation to cater to user preferences and needs, which is a feature of today's Internet. This research contributes to the literature by examining identifier systems within and beyond the Internet context. Additionally, this study introduces a review of the DNS, revealing a broad range of parameters governing its operation. Based on these foundational principles, this research proposes a computational model to concurrently enhance the system's flexibility, speed and privacy, introducing alternative behaviours in the DNS. The impetus behind this study was the imperative to extend DNS functionality, thereby preserving the unified namespace and highlighting the importance of avoiding fragmentation that would compromise the integrity and erode the value of a cohesive, unified communication network.	en_US.UTF-8
dc.format	Thesis (PhD)
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US.UTF-8
dc.relation	https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/181096/1/thesis.pdf
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	The author owns the copyright in this thesis including all reproduction and reuse rights for the work. The work may not be altered without the permission of the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from this thesis.
dc.rights	© 2024 Andrew Martin Babakian
dc.rights	au.edu.uts.lib/cph
dc.title	Resolution in Internet Identifiers: Towards Context-Awareness and Customisation	en_US.UTF-8
dc.type	Thesis
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*

Abstract:

Identity systems are the key to any network. Just as a language is defined by a consistent set of symbols and their usage, a network is defined by a consistent set of identities and their usage. For users to find this network useful, they must be able to communicate references using human-friendly names that are easy to remember and be confident that these names refer to the same digital objects in multiple contexts. This is only achievable if names are allocated from a unified namespace and the resolution of the name into network addresses is consistent and coherent. Market competition dynamics for digital presence naturally encourage us to be bound within this unified namespace in the Domain Name System (DNS). Originally, the DNS modelled a telephone directory, a static system published periodically with invariant lookup keys. This directory was non-customisable and uniform for all users, permitting anyone to use the same lookup key and retrieve identical information. One could share a key, and others could access the same database to retrieve identical results, making it possible to refer to entities via their keys. However, with the evolution of the Internet, the concept of identity systems also evolved, and the use of identifiers within the DNS began to shift. In this evolution, one can consider the broader concept of DNS as a marketplace and the identity system as a market. It is not the name that determines the market; rather, it is the behaviour of the name -- its ability to customise and contain attributes beyond its static translation -- that determines the usefulness of the name. This reduces the utility of the objective uniform identifier system. However, we rely on customisation to cater to user preferences and needs, which is a feature of today's Internet. This research contributes to the literature by examining identifier systems within and beyond the Internet context. Additionally, this study introduces a review of the DNS, revealing a broad range of parameters governing its operation. Based on these foundational principles, this research proposes a computational model to concurrently enhance the system's flexibility, speed and privacy, introducing alternative behaviours in the DNS. The impetus behind this study was the imperative to extend DNS functionality, thereby preserving the unified namespace and highlighting the importance of avoiding fragmentation that would compromise the integrity and erode the value of a cohesive, unified communication network.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/181096