This week I stumbled across an interesting overview paper by Srinivasan Keshav (author of “Mathematical Foundations of Computer Networking”, which I already own since some days):
Naming, Addressing, and Forwarding Reconsidered
The paper provides the reader with an easy to understand and profound overview of how entities (Internet computers, mailboxes, phones) are addressed. Keshav introduces the concept of location independent identifiers (LII) and location specific identifiers (LSI). The separation of LII and LSI allows for a better understanding of how an indirection (e.g. resolution of a DNS name (LII) to an IP address (LSI)) can improve routing performance and add flexibility to the overall system.
I especially like the high-level view of the paper which provides valuable input for my current research.