AFTN / X.400 address mappings

Mapping between X.400 and AFTN addresses is a central function of an AFTN/AMHS Gateway (MTCU). It is also a very helpful user function when supporting migration from AFTN to AMHS. This is discussed in the Isode white paper "Addressing in AMHS: Building a solution that works for the End User": http://www.isode.com/whitepapers/amhs-addressing.html

As an identical mapping needs to be made in many places, it makes sense to manage the mappings. The directory is an ideal location and the Eurocontrol SPACE project defined a means to do this. The directory mapping is specified in Chapter 6 (ATS Message Handling) of the Comprehensive Aeronautical Telecommunication Network (ATN) Manual (Part III. Applications guidance material), section 6.2.1.5.10-17.

We have implemented this mapping as a part of our Directory Client API product.

Initial experience with this mapping code has shown that the shipping version does not meet the full requirements of the ICAO specification for an MTCU, and cannot support all of the mappings in the tables distributed by the AFSG (Aeronautical Fixed Services Group).

To address this, we have extended the algorithm used so that it can deal with the AFSG tables and meet the full requirements of the ICAO MTCU specification. We will be shipping this updated functionality in R11.3, and also updating our distributed LDIF mappings to align to the latest AFSG mappings.