DISTRIBUTED CONTROL OF ALIAS NAME USAGE IN NETWORKS

Computer systems linked to nodes in a communication network communicate directly with each other to establish name associations for entities (e.g. programs, storage files, etc.) susceptible of being shared across the network, and thereafter communicate further by names (rather than addresses) to establish sessions (i.e. logical connections over the network) between entities. Each system maintains a table of names assigned to locally accessible entities. The name and session establishment processes are architected to avoid dependence on any "central" or "master" system, and to allow for extension of communications relating to these processes across devices linking portions of the network associated with different communication media or channels.