Method and system for name resolution across heterogeneous architectures

1. A method for resolving a name request in a network, comprising:

receiving the name request by a network node of a first group of network nodes that are operating under a first name resolution scheme, wherein the name request is for a node of a second group;

identifying, by the network node of the first group, a parent group of the first group in a hierarchy of name resolution groups, wherein the first group is lower in the hierarchy than the parent group, and the parent group operates under a name resolution scheme that is different from the first name resolution scheme;

in response to failing to resolve the name request within the first group using the first name resolution scheme, forwarding the name request to the identified parent group;

receiving, by the network node through the parent group, a first response to the name request, wherein the parent group is higher in the hierarchy than both the first group and the second group, and the first response indicates a network address of a requested name of the name request and a network address of an intermediate node;

caching the network address of the requested name;

determining, based on the hierarchy of name resolution groups, whether a hierarchy level of the intermediate node is equal to or below the first group;

in response to the hierarchy level of the intermediate node being equal to or below the first group, caching the network address of the intermediate node, wherein a name request to a node can be sent immediately to the cached network address of the intermediate node bypassing the parent group; and

sending a second response to the name request based on the first response.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

in response to the parent group not responding to the name request, forwarding the name request to a grandparent group of the first group.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining that a cached entry associated with the name request exists; and

forwarding the name request or generating a response based on the cached entry.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the hierarchy of name resolution groups uses a plurality of name-resolution approaches, including one or more of:

Domain Name System (DNS);

multicast DNS (mDNS); and

distributed hash table (DHT) based name-resolution scheme.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

responding with an error message to the name request in response to failing to forward the name request.

6. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method for resolving a name request in a network, the method comprising:

receiving the name request by a network node of a first group of network nodes that are operating under a first name resolution scheme, wherein the name request is for a node of a second group;

identifying, by the network node of the first group, a parent group of the first group in a hierarchy of name resolution groups, wherein the first group is lower in the hierarchy than the parent group, and the parent group operates under a name resolution scheme that is different from the first name resolution scheme;

in response to failing to resolve the name request within the first group using the first name resolution scheme, forwarding the name request to the identified parent group;

receiving, through the parent group, a first response to the name request, wherein the parent group is higher in the hierarchy than both the first group and the second group, and the first response indicates a network address of a requested name of the name request and a network address of an intermediate node;

caching the network address of the requested name;

determining, based on the hierarchy of name resolution groups, whether a hierarchy level of the intermediate node is equal to or below the first group;

in response to the hierarchy level of the intermediate node being equal to or below the first group, caching the network address of the intermediate node, wherein a name request to a node can be sent immediately to the cached network address of the intermediate node bypassing the parent group; and

sending a second response to the name request based on the first response.

7. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein the method further comprises:

in response to the parent group not responding to the name request, forwarding the name request to a grandparent group of the group.

8. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein the method further comprises:

determining that a cached entry associated with the name request exists; and

forwarding the name request or generating a response based on the cached entry.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein the hierarchy of name resolution groups uses a plurality of name-resolution approaches, including one or more of:

Domain Name System (DNS);

multicast DNS (mDNS); and

distributed hash table (DHT) based name-resolution scheme.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 6 , wherein the method further comprises:

responding with an error message to the name request in response to failing to forward the name request.

11. A system comprising:

a plurality of groups of network nodes that operate under different name-resolution schemes, wherein a node of a first group of the plurality of groups of network nodes is a computing device with one or more processors and a memory and is configured for receiving a name request, for a node of a second group of the plurality of groups of network nodes, and the node is configured to:

identify, by the one or more processors, a parent group of the first group in a hierarchy of name resolution groups, wherein the first group is lower in the hierarchy than the parent group, and the parent group operates under a name resolution scheme that is different from a first name resolution scheme of the first group;

in response to failing to resolve the name request within the first group using the first name resolution scheme, forward the name request to the identified parent group;

receive, through the parent group, a first response to the name request, wherein the parent group is higher in the hierarchy than both the first group and the second group, and the first response indicates a network address of a requested name of the name request and a network address of an intermediate node;

cache the network address of the requested name;

determine, based on the hierarchy of name resolution groups, whether a hierarchy level of the intermediate node is equal to or below the first group;

in response to the hierarchy level of the intermediate node being equal to or below the first group, cache the network address of the intermediate node, wherein a name request to a node can be sent immediately to the cached network address of the intermediate node bypassing the parent group; and

send a second response to the name request based on the first response.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the node is further configured to, in response to the parent group not responding to the name request, forward the name request to a grandparent group of the first group.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the node is further configured to:

determine that a cached entry associated with the name request exists; and

forward the name request or generate a response based on the cached entry.

14. The system of claim 11 , wherein the hierarchy of name resolution groups uses a plurality of name-resolution approaches, including one or more of:

Domain Name System (DNS);

multicast DNS (mDNS); and

distributed hash table (DHT) based name-resolution scheme.

15. The system of claim 11 , wherein the node is further configured to respond with an error message to the name request in response to failing to forward the name request.