CCSO Nameserver

A CCSO name-server or Ph protocol was an early form of database search on the internet. In its most common form it was used to look up information such as phone numbers and e-mail addresses. Today this service has been largely replaced by LDAP. It was used mainly in the early-to-middle 1990s. The name-server was developed by Steve Dorner at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, at the university's Computing and Communications Services Office (CCSO).

There also exists an Outlook plugin and standalone application known as OutlookPH

Overview

The name-server directories were frequently organized in Gopher hierarchies. The tools "Ph" and "Qi" were the two components of the system: Ph was a client that queried the Qi server.

The Ph protocol was formally defined by RFC 2378 in September 1998. However the memo issued at this time references its prior use for an unspecified period of time before this date. It defines sixteen keywords that can be used on the server side to define record properties. It also defines how clients should access records on the server and what responses the server should give. Ph server communication takes place on TCP port 105.