Gateway location servers provide information to the Parlay Connector needed to make initial contact with the Parlay gateway.
The gateway location server publishes the necessary information for making contact which is looked up using an internet object reference (IOR), a uniform resource locator (URL) string, or an IP address and port. If the IOR or URL is for the Parlay gateway initial reference (IpInitial), the Parlay Connector can use it to make initial contact with the gateway. If the published IOR or URL is for the Parlay gateway name service, the connector can use either the IOR or the URL with the configured name service key to lookup the initial contact with the gateway. It works the same way with an IP and a port.
The default Parlay Connector locator software uses certain methods for providing its IpInitial to clients. A gateway that publishes its IpInitial IOR or URL to an IP address and port does not need customized locator software. A gateway that registers its IpInitial with a name service, and then publishes the name service IOR or URL to an IP address and port also does not need customized locator software.
If a gateway uses some other method to provide its IpInitial to clients, customized locator software is needed before the gateway location server can provide initial contact information to the Parlay Connector.