Resource Cataloging and Distribution System

We describe an architecture for cataloging the characteristics of Internet-accessible resources, for replicating such resources to improve their accessibility, and for registering the current locations of the resources so replicated. Message digests and public-key authentication are used to ensure the integrity of the les provided to users. The service is designed to provide increased functionality with only minimal changes to either a client or a server. Resources can be named either by URNs or by existing URLs, and either type of resource name can be resolved to a description and ultimately to a set of locations from which the resource can be retrieved.