Are there any limits to the character length of a service nam e in an SRV record?

[Jim Reid]

>>>>> "Todd" == Corsa, Todd <tcorsa at bnl.gov> writes:

    Todd> I'm refering to the entire "_ldap._tcp.example.com" as a
    Todd> "service name" because RFC 2782 does so here:

    Todd> "A reply packet has a 30-byte overhead plus the name of the
    Todd> service ("_ldap._tcp.example.com" for instance)"

RFC2782 says nothing about "service name" (your definition) at all. The
only reference to "service name" in RFC2782 is:

	Currently, the translation from service name to port number happens
	at the client, often using a file such as /etc/services.

In that context, "service name" is the value of the string represented
by the _Service label. ie The thing that can be looked up in the likes
of /etc/services to get a port number.

    Todd> I think the problem is exactly that you're trying to say
    Todd> that everything served by a DNS server is a domain name
    Todd> ("These service names -- whatever they are -- MUST be domain
    Todd> names in order to be entered into the DNS.") Take the case
    Todd> of a TXT record. Are you saying that the text portion of the
    Todd> record has to be a domain name? 

Of course not. You don't seem to understand there's a distinction
between a domain name and the tuples/data associated with that name.

    Todd> Do you see where I'm going with this?

No I don't. And there's not much point continuing this thread. You're
not using DNS terminology correctly and then want to quibble about
the way you've defined the semantics of those terms. This is pointless.

    Todd> So when I refer to the "example.com" as a domain name, think
    Todd> of it in the global "IT" sense. 

I have no idea what this means. Probably nobody other than you does.
No, don't bother enlightening us. This thread has run its course.

    Todd> It's the name of a domain. Meanwhile "_ldap._tcp.example.com" 
    Todd> is not the name of a domain.

Yes it is. All names in the DNS are domain names. By definition they
must therefore be the name of some domain.