3.4.3 Network Information Service (NIS)

Setting up a machine as a NIS-client, you need to know the NIS-domain's name, into which the machine is about to belong. This domainname has nothing to do with the machine's DNS-domainname, it's just a unique identifier for all the machines in the same NIS-domain to know them they belong together (and to a certain server).

Do the following steps to setup a machine as NIS client:

1. Domainname: First, put the NIS-domain's name in `/etc/defaultdomain'.

   echo our.nis.domain >/etc/defaultdomain
   

2. `/etc/passwd' (and friends): Put a line in the password file with the login-name consisting of a single + and all the other fields empty.

   +:::::::::
   

   This line tells the programs reading `/etc/passwd' to look for more entries using NIS. (Use vipw to edit, as usual. No editing of `/etc/passwd' by hand!)
3. `/etc/group': Also, to enable programs scanning through `/etc/group' for getting the NIS' `group'-file, add the following line to `/etc/group':

   +:::
   

4. `/etc/resolv.conf': Add a line saying "lookup yp" to `/etc/resolv.conf', if you want to use DNS too (for hosts not in the hosts NIS-map, make the line look like "lookup yp dns". Please see resolv.conf(5) for a more detailled description.
5. `/etc/rc': You'll have to uncommet a few lines in `/etc/rc', please refer to section 3.5.2 `/etc/rc'.
6. `/var/yp': Create the directory `/var/yp':

   # mkdir /var/yp
   

7. Reboot: Restart your system to take all the changes into effect and to start the NIS-client daemon.
8. Check! Try if everything is ok:
   • See if you're connected to the right (or any) NIS server:

     ypwhich
     

   • Try to get the NIS-server's `passwd'- and `group'-file:

     ypcat passwd
     ypcat group
     

   • If all this works well, try to see if your system also scans the NIS-`passwd' properly, not only the local `/etc/passwd'. Do this by logging in as a user only kept in the NIS-`passwd' and not in `/etc/passwd'.