# Naming Methods Configuration Overview

Users initiate a connect request by passing a user name and password along with an connect identifier for the service to which they wish to connect. The connect identifier, which is mapped to a connect descriptor, is resolved by a naming method for the client. The connect descriptor contains the:

- Network route to the service, including the location of the listener through a protocol address

- Service name of an Oracle8i database or Oracle System Identifier (SID) of an Oracle8 or Oracle7 database

Once the connect identifier is resolved, the uses the network route information in the connect descriptor to contact a listener. The listener, through a protocol, accepts the client connection. It compares the client information with the information it has received from the database service, as well as information it has stored in its own configuration file, listener.ora. If the information matches, a connection is granted.

Naming method configuration consists of creating connect descriptors for services and configuring clients to access the naming method.

You can use Net8 Configuration Assistant to specify usage of the following naming methods in the sqlnet.ora file:

Local naming | Stores net service names in a tnsnames.ora file stored on a client Local naming is most appropriate for simple distributed networks with a small number of services that change infrequently.
Directory naming | Stores services and net service names in a centralized LDAP-compliant directory server
Oracle Names | Stores services and net service names in an Oracle Names server
Host naming | Enables users to connect to an Oracle database server by using a host name alias. Host names are mapped to a connect descriptor in an existing names resolution service, such as Domain Name System (DNS), Network Information Service (NIS), or a centrally-maintained set of `/etc/hosts` files. No client configuration is required to take advantage of this feature. This method is recommended for simple TCP/IP environments.
External naming | Stores service information in an a third-party naming service, such as NIS, Novell Directory Service (NDS), or Cell Directory Service (CDS)

| See Also:

Specify Naming Methods

| See Also: Chapter 6, Configuring Naming Methods, in the Net8 Administrator's Guide