11/28/95, 4FAX# 2701 NIS Configuration Tips SPECIAL NOTICES Information in this document is correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of this writing. Please send feedback by fax to "AIXServ Information" at (512) 823-4009. Please use this information with care. IBM will not be responsible for damages of any kind resulting from its use. The use of this information is the sole responsibility of the customer and depends on the customer's ability to eval- uate and integrate this information into the customer's operational environment. ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT This document contains tips for the NIS configuration process. It includes planning tips, information on config- uration of the master, slave, and client, and other notes. PLANNING o It is wise to always configure at least one NIS slave server to take over in case the server fails or requires maintenance. o If the master is on the other side of a router from some of its clients, it is essential that an NIS slave server be configured on the same side as the clients since ypbind broadcasts cannot be propagated through the router, as well as for performance considerations. o Determine if additional NIS maps (such as auto.master) will be required, and create the source files and add the appropriate changes to the /var/yp/Makefile prior to configuring the master. NIS MASTER CONFIGURATION o Edit the map input files to ensure all the data (users, groups, services, etc.) is correct and appropriate to be shared by the clients. o Use "smit yp/Change NIS Domain Name of this Host" and enter the NIS domain name for your NIS server. o Use "smit yp/Configure / Modify NIS" and select "Con- figure this Host as a NIS Master Server". - Be sure to enter the host names of the "HOSTS that will be slave servers" and include the NIS master's name, because the ypservers map is built from this and will be used by any slave server that might take over NIS. NIS Configuration Tips 1 11/28/95, 4FAX# 2701 - If you intend to allow client users to change their own passwords, then toggle the "START the yppasswdd daemon?" value to "yes". - For most configurations, leave the remaining fields defaulted. NIS SLAVE CONFIGURATION o Determine the NIS master host name and NIS domain name prior to starting. o If you are on the other side of a router from the NIS master, configure as an NIS client first (see below). o Use "smit yp/Change NIS Domain Name of this Host" and enter the NIS domain name. o Use "smit yp/Configure / Modify NIS" and select "Con- figure this Host as a NIS Slave Server". - Enter the "HOSTNAME of the master server". - Leave the rest default and press . NIS CLIENT CONFIGURATION o Determine the NIS domain name prior to starting. o Use "smit yp/Change NIS Domain Name of this Host" and enter the NIS domain name. o Use "smit yp/Configure / Modify NIS" and select "Con- figure this Host as a NIS Client". - Normally, leave the default value and press . - After the client has been started, the first ypwhich you perform may not succeed. Enter ypwhich a second time and it should report the name of the server to which you are bound. OTHER NOTES o In order to use common NIS user and group information, the administrator may place the NIS "token" in the /etc/passwd and /etc/group files to separate local and NIS users and groups. These tokens are placed on a line by themselves and are: +::0:0::: for /etc/passwd +: for /etc/group o A problem was noted (corrected with U407731) in which the slave server fails to build its maps. The error message "Can't enumerate maps from server ..." may be missed unless you use smit to set up the slave. The corrective action is to edit the /usr/sbin/ypinit script and remove the extra "$" at the end of "$master" on line 129. Then remake the slave server. NIS Configuration Tips 2 11/28/95, 4FAX# 2701 | Note: This problem has been resolved on 4.1. o If you need to add a new NIS map after an initial set of maps has been pushed to a slave server, make the new map(s) with the NOPUSH option set to 1 ("make NOPUSH=1 "). Failure to use the NOPUSH option will cause the command to hang. On each slave server and for each map created, execute the ypxfr command: "/usr/etc/ypxfr -h ". o If you need to configure an NIS client on the other side of a router or gateway that does not support broadcasts, you will need to "ypset" to the master's IP address in order to bind. Use the following command: /usr/sbin/ypset -d In order to bind automatically at boot, the above command may be placed in /etc/rc.nfs immediately after the line: startsrc -s ypbind NIS Configuration Tips 3 11/28/95, 4FAX# 2701 READER'S COMMENTS Please fax this form to (512) 823-4009, attention "AIXServ Informa- tion". You may also e-mail comments to: elizabet@austin.ibm.com. These comments should include the same customer information requested below. Use this form to tell us what you think about this document. If you have found errors in it, or if you want to express your opinion about it (such as organization, subject matter, appearance) or make sug- gestions for improvement, this is the form to use. 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