When the server application is registered with the name-service database, the client can obtain binding handles by using one of two equivalent methods:
The import method returns a single binding handle while the look-up method returns a binding vector from which the application selects one binding handle using the function RpcNsBindingSelect.
The client queries the name service by supplying the logical name the client uses to refer to the server application. The name-service provider returns a binding handle.
The client can also choose to supply a null name (an empty string or a null pointer). In this case, the Microsoft Locator searches for name-service database entries that match the supplied interface UUID. The search varies slightly between the OSF-DCE CDS and the Microsoft Locator.
The OSF-DCE implementation of the name-service provider uses the DEFAULT_ENTRY environment variable, which is usually the name of a profile, to search for an entry that matches the interface ID specified in the import call. See NSID documentation for more details.
The Microsoft Locator implementation of the name-service provider does not use DEFAULT_ENTRY and does not support group or profile entries. Instead, all entries in the primary locator (at the domain controller) are combined to form a default profile. When no matches are found in that domain, the client application can search in another domain. For more information about specifying the domain name, see Name Syntax.