1.1 Glossary

This document uses the following terms:

authenticated RPC call: An RPC call that establishes authentication information through the use of the rpc_binding_set_auth_info procedure defined in [C706], the security provider extension defined in [MS-RPCE] section 2.2.1.1.7, and the authentication levels extension defined in [MS-RPCE] section 2.2.1.1.8.

client: A computer on which the remote procedure call (RPC) client is executing.

connection: In OleTx, an ordered set of logically related messages. The relationship between the messages is defined by the higher-layer protocol, but they are guaranteed to be delivered exactly one time and in order relative to other messages in the connection.

contact identifier: A universally unique identifier (UUID) that identifies a partner in the MSDTC Connection Manager: OleTx Transports Protocol. These UUIDs are frequently converted to and from string representations. This string representation must follow the format specified in [C706] Appendix A. In addition, the UUIDs must be compared, as specified in [C706] Appendix A.

dynamic endpoint: A network-specific server address that is requested and assigned at run time. For more information, see [C706].

endpoint: A remote procedure call (RPC) dynamic endpoint, as specified in [C706], part 4.

endpoint mapper: A service on a remote procedure call (RPC) server that maintains a database of dynamic endpoints and allows clients to map an interface/object UUID pair to a local dynamic endpoint. For more information, see [C706].

globally unique identifier (GUID): A term used interchangeably with universally unique identifier (UUID) in Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the value. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] must be used for generating the GUID. See also universally unique identifier (UUID).

Interface Definition Language (IDL): The International Standards Organization (ISO) standard language for specifying the interface for remote procedure calls. For more information, see [C706] section 4.

level-three protocol: The MSDTC Connection Manager: OleTx Transports Protocol is designed to be a transport protocol over which two other protocols are layered. When used in this document, level-three protocol refers to the protocol that is layered immediately on top of the level-two protocol, as described in section 2.2.2. [MS-DTCO] is an implementation of a level-three protocol; however, any other custom implementation could be used.

level-two protocol: The MSDTC Connection Manager: OleTx Transports Protocol is designed to be a transport protocol over which two other protocols are layered. When used in this document, level-two protocol refers to the protocol that is layered immediately on top of MSDTC Connection Manager: OleTx Transports Protocol, as described in section 2.2.2. [MS-CMP] is an implementation of a level-two protocol; however, any other custom implementation could be used.

Microsoft Interface Definition Language (MIDL): The Microsoft implementation and extension of the OSF-DCE Interface Definition Language (IDL). MIDL can also mean the Interface Definition Language (IDL) compiler provided by Microsoft. For more information, see [MS-RPCE].

NetBIOS name: A 16-byte address that is used to identify a NetBIOS resource on the network. For more information, see [RFC1001] and [RFC1002].

Network Data Representation (NDR): A specification that defines a mapping from Interface Definition Language (IDL) data types onto octet streams. NDR also refers to the runtime environment that implements the mapping facilities (for example, data provided to NDR). For more information, see [MS-RPCE] and [C706] section 14.

opnum: An operation number or numeric identifier that is used to identify a specific remote procedure call (RPC) method or a method in an interface. For more information, see [C706] section 12.5.2.12 or [MS-RPCE].

partner: A participant in the MSDTC Connection Manager: OleTx Transports Protocol. Each partner has its own contact identifier (CID), and uses the IXnRemote interface to invoke and receive remote procedure calls (RPCs). The IXnRemote interface is described within the full Interface Definition Language (IDL) for [MS-CMPO] in section 6.

primary partner: One of the two participants in an MSDTC Connection Manager: OleTx Transports Protocol session. The primary partner is the partner with the larger CID, as specified in [C706] Appendix A, where larger means that the CID of the primary partner follows the CID of the other partner.

remote procedure call (RPC): A communication protocol used primarily between client and server. The term has three definitions that are often used interchangeably: a runtime environment providing for communication facilities between computers (the RPC runtime); a set of request-and-response message exchanges between computers (the RPC exchange); and the single message from an RPC exchange (the RPC message).  For more information, see [C706].

RPC protocol sequence: A character string that represents a valid combination of a remote procedure call (RPC) protocol, a network layer protocol, and a transport layer protocol, as described in [C706] and [MS-RPCE].

RPC server: A computer on the network that waits for messages, processes them when they arrive, and sends responses using RPC as its transport acts as the responder during a remote procedure call (RPC) exchange.

RPC transfer syntax: A method for encoding messages defined in an Interface Definition Language (IDL) file. Remote procedure call (RPC) can support different encoding methods or transfer syntaxes. For more information, see [C706].

RPC transport: The underlying network services used by the remote procedure call (RPC) runtime for communications between network nodes. For more information, see [C706] section 2.

secondary partner: One of the two participants in an MSDTC Connection Manager: OleTx Transports Protocol session. The secondary partner is the partner with the smaller CID, as specified in [C706] Appendix A, where smaller means that the CID of the secondary partner precedes the CID of the other partner.

security level: An implementation-specific enumeration value that specifies the security behavior of a protocol partner. The generic values of this enumeration are described in [MS-CMPO] section 3.2.1.1.

security provider: A pluggable security module that is specified by the protocol layer above the remote procedure call (RPC) layer, and will cause the RPC layer to use this module to secure messages in a communication session with the server. The security provider is sometimes referred to as an authentication service. For more information, see [C706] and [MS-RPCE].

session: In OleTx, a transport-level connection between a Transaction Manager and another Distributed Transaction participant over which multiplexed logical connections and messages flow. A session remains active so long as there are logical connections using it.

session rank: The role of a partner in an [MS-CMPO] session, either primary or secondary. The rank is determined by comparing the CIDs of the two partners (as specified in [C706] Appendix A). The partner with the larger CID is the primary partner; the CID of the primary partner follows the CID of the other partner. The partner with the smaller CID is the secondary partner; the CID of the secondary partner precedes the CID of the other partner.

unauthenticated RPC call: An RPC call that does not establish authentication information through the use of the rpc_binding_set_auth_info procedure defined in [C706], the security provider extension defined in [MS-RPCE] section 2.2.1.1.7, and the authentication levels extension defined in [MS-RPCE] section 2.2.1.1.8.

universally unique identifier (UUID): A 128-bit value. UUIDs can be used for multiple purposes, from tagging objects with an extremely short lifetime, to reliably identifying very persistent objects in cross-process communication such as client and server interfaces, manager entry-point vectors, and RPC objects. UUIDs are highly likely to be unique. UUIDs are also known as globally unique identifiers (GUIDs) and these terms are used interchangeably in the Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the UUID. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] must be used for generating the UUID.

MAY, SHOULD, MUST, SHOULD NOT, MUST NOT: These terms (in all caps) are used as defined in [RFC2119]. All statements of optional behavior use either MAY, SHOULD, or SHOULD NOT.