TITLE
    Mac OS 9: What is NSL?
Article ID:
Created:
Modified: 		60514
9/30/99
1/16/01
TOPIC

    What is NSL?

DISCUSSION

    The Network Services Location (NSL) Manager provides a protocol-independent way for applications to discover network services that are available in the local network. An application can use the NSL Manager to obtain a list of network services, display the list, and allow the user to choose and connect to a particular network service. Both Navigation Services dialog boxes and Network Browser use NSL.

    NSL features in Mac OS 9 are:
    • NBP Plug-in - For the Name Binding Protocol (part of AppleTalk).
    • LDAP Plug-in - For the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).
    • Supports version 2.0 of the Service Location Protocol (SLP).
    • You can drag and drop from NSL dialogs and make internet location files.

    SLP - Service Location Protocol
    An emerging standard, open protocol. Used for advertising and discovering network services. File Sharing and Personal Web Sharing use this.

    DNS - Domain Name Server
    This looks up machine names (like www.apple.com) and translates them into IP addresses

    LDAP - Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
    Commonly used for phone directories, etc. The "People" servers that Sherlock 2 uses are LDAP servers. LDAP is a standard protocol defined in RFC 1488 (1777, 2251). This protocol communicates over TCP/IP.

    NBP - Name Binding Protocol (NBP)
    Part of AppleTalk that translates AppleTalk zone and machine names into their corresponding numbers. This protocol communicates over AppleTalk.

Document Information
Product Area: Mac OS System Software
Category: Mac OS 9.0
Sub Category: System Software Components; Networking & Internet
Keywords: kmos90

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