Zero-configuration networking: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:32, 22 January 2023

Revision as of 00:08, 26 January 2023

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Early computer networking was built upon technologies of the telecommunications networks and thus protocols tended to fall into two groups: those intended to connect local devices into a [[local area network]] (LAN), and those intended primarily for long-distance communications. The latter [[wide area network]] (WAN) systems tended to have centralized setup, where a [[network administrator]] would manually assign addresses and names. LAN systems tended to provide more automation of these tasks so that new equipment could be added to a LAN with a minimum of operator and administrator intervention.

An early example of a zero-configuration LAN system is [[AppleTalk]], a protocol introduced by [[Apple Inc.]] for the early [[MacMacintosh (computer)|Macintosh]] computerss in the 1980s. Macs, as well as other devices supporting the protocol, could be added to the network by simply plugging them in; all further configuration was automated. Network addresses were automatically selected by each device using a protocol known as AppleTalk Address Resolution Protocol (AARP), while each machine built its own local directory service using a protocol known as Name Binding Protocol (NBP). NBP included not only a name but the type of device and any additional user-provided information such as its physical ___location or availability. Users could look up any device on the network with the application [[Chooser (Mac OS)|Chooser]], which filtered names based on the device type.

On [[Internet Protocol]] (IP) networks, the [[Domain Name System]] database for a network was initially maintained manually by a network administrator. Efforts to automate maintenance of this database, led to the introduction of a number of new protocols providing automated services, such as the [[Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol]] (DHCP).