Agent Name Service (ANS): A Universal Directory for Secure AI Agent Discovery and Interoperability
draft-narajala-ans-00
| Document | Type |
Replaced Internet-Draft
(individual)
Expired & archived
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Authors | Ken Huang , Vineeth Sai Narajala , Idan Habler , Akram Sheriff | ||
| Last updated | 2025-11-17 (Latest revision 2025-05-16) | ||
| Replaced by | draft-narajala-courtney-ansv2 | ||
| RFC stream | (None) | ||
| Intended RFC status | (None) | ||
| Formats | |||
| Stream | Stream state | (No stream defined) | |
| Consensus boilerplate | Unknown | ||
| RFC Editor Note | (None) | ||
| IESG | IESG state | Replaced by draft-narajala-courtney-ansv2 | |
| Telechat date | (None) | ||
| Responsible AD | (None) | ||
| Send notices to | (None) |
This Internet-Draft is no longer active. A copy of the expired Internet-Draft is available in these formats:
Abstract
The proliferation of AI agents requires robust mechanisms for secure discovery. This document introduces the Agent Name Service (ANS), a novel architecture based on DNS addressing the lack of a public agent discovery framework. ANS provides a protocol-agnostic registry mechanism that leverages Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificates for verifiable agent identity and trust. The architecture features several key innovations: a formalized agent registration and renewal mechanism for lifecycle management; DNS-inspired naming conventions with capability-aware resolution; a modular Protocol Adapter Layer supporting diverse communication standards (A2A, MCP, ACP, etc.); and precisely defined algorithms for secure resolution. This specification describes structured communication using JSON Schema and includes a comprehensive threat analysis. The result is a foundational agent directory service protocol addressing the core challenges of secure discovery and interaction in multi-agent systems, paving the way for future interoperable, trustworthy, and scalable agent ecosystems.
Authors
Ken Huang
Vineeth Sai Narajala
Idan Habler
Akram Sheriff
(Note: The e-mail addresses provided for the authors of this Internet-Draft may no longer be valid.)