Until recently, the Internet has been used mainly as a means of communication for governmental, scientific, and educational communities. Today, the Internet is being used for unprecedented consumer and business applications. With this explosion of interest comes the need for a dynamic directory that can meet the growing demands for real-time location services.
Internet directory services let you find static information about users on the Internet (for example, telephone numbers or e-mail addresses). In contrast, dynamic directory services allow you to locate dynamic information about people currently logged on to an Internet service or site. A dynamic directory service stores the kind of user information that changes frequently or is only available while a user is logged on. The user’s IP address is a good example of dynamic information.
iiiiiTypically, vendors of real-time communication applications, such as Internet telephony software, have created their own proprietary user location solutions that only work with their own clients. This lack of a standards-based approach to user location has been one of the barriers to interoperability between communication applications.