Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
NIS servers can also be NIS clients, depending on the configuration of the
/etc/
nsswitch.conf
file. Keep in mind that NIS servers also need to resolve hostnames,
network addresses, and so on for their own use.
Configuring NIS Servers and Clients
The procedures that are used to configure an NIS master server, a slave serv-
er, and a client are somewhat similar. The following sections explain how to
configure each.
First, note, however, that each system should be identified as being a member
of the domain. This is accomplished by using the
domainname(1M)
command
and specifying the domain name as an argument. For example, if a system will
be part of the
sun.com
domain, you would use the following command to set
the domain:
# domainname sun.com
#
The
/etc/defaultdomain
file should also contain the name of this domain.
Be sure to check it and modify it if needed.
NIS Master Server
Before an NIS master server can be configured, the data that is used to build the
maps must be prepared. By default, the maps will be built from the
/etc
files.
However, it is recommended that the
/etc
files be copied to another directory
so that any necessary changes to these source files can be made without affect-
ing the local system. The following procedure is used to prepare the data:
1.
Verify that the
/etc
files are up to date. These files are
auto_home
,
auto_master
,
bootparams
,
ethers
,
group
,
hosts
,
netgroup
,
netmasks
,
networks
,
passwd
,
protocols
,
rpc
,
service
, and
shadow
.
2.
Select a directory to be used to build most of the maps (the
DIR
directory)
and another directory for building the
passwd
map (the
PWDIR
directory).
3.
Copy all the files (except
/etc/passwd
) to the
DIR
directory and copy
the
/etc/passwd
file to the
PWDIR
directory.
4.
Verify that the
/etc/mail/aliases
file is up to date, but do not copy it
to the
DIR
directory.
5.
Remove comments and other unnecessary information from the copied
source files. Verify that the file formats are correct.
6.
Modify the
/var/yp/Makefile
to identify the selected
DIR
and
PWDIR
directories.
