[theptip]

Is it common to use DNS or some other name resolution system to get from 'abstract service name' to 'concrete IP'?

Just thinking through the remediation steps in the case of compromised keys; how would you propagate the change-of-identity information?

[Hyperborian]

Currently the typical solution on Hyperboria is indeed the current internet DNS system, primarily for lack of a widely accepted decentralized alternative.

A truly decentralized alternative to the current DNS system is a difficult problem to solve, and one that people continue to work on. IP addresses are easier because they are interchangeable, it really doesn't matter which one you have as long as you're the only one who has it. Domain names, though, are not at all, in fact that's basically their entire point. The question of who gets which names, issues around fraud and phishing, mass registration and domain squatting... how do you solve those problems without some sort of authority to arbitrate and enforce rules?

The closest alternative to the ideal that I know of right now is probably Namecoin, which works quite well with Hyperboria, but it still involves a number of compromises that not everyone is happy with.

[theptip]

Thanks for the detailed explanation.