private function _getNodeType($nodeURL)
    {
        phpCAS::traceBegin();
        if (preg_match("/^(\d{1,3})\.(\d{1,3})\.(\d{1,3})\.(\d{1,3})$/", $nodeURL)) {
            phpCAS::traceEnd(self::IP);
            return self::IP;
        } else {
            phpCAS::traceEnd(self::HOSTNAME);
            return self::HOSTNAME;
        }
    }