Commands Reference, Volume 4

nisdefaults Command

Purpose

Displays the seven default values currently active in the namespace.

Syntax

nisdefaults [ -d domain ] [ -g group ] [ -h host ] [ -p principal ] [ -r access_rights ] [ -s search_path ] [ -t time_to_live ] [ -a all(terse) ] [ -v verbose ]

Description

The nisdefaults command displays the seven default values currently active in the namespace. To display NIS+ defaults the default values are either:

Preset values supplied by the NIS+ software
The defaults specified in the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable (if you have NIS_DEFAULTS values set)

Any object that you create on this machine will automatically acquire these default values unless you override them with the -D flag of the command you are using to create the object.

Setting Default Security Values

This section describes how to perform tasks related to the nisdefaults command, the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable, and the -D flag. The NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable specifies the following default values:

Owner
Group
Access rights
Time-to-live

The values that you set in the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable are the default values applied to all NIS+ objects that you create using that shell (unless overridden by using the -D flag with the command that creates the object).

You can specify the default values (owner, group, access rights, and time-to-live) specified with the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable. After you set the value of NIS_DEFAULTS, every object you create from that shell will acquire those defaults, unless you override them by using the -D flag when you invoke a command.

Displaying the Value of NIS_DEFAULTS

You can check the setting of an environment variable by using the echo command, as shown in the following example:

client% echo $NIS_DEFAULTS
owner=butler:group=gamblers:access=o+rmcd

You can also display a general list of the NIS+ defaults active in the namespace by using the nisdefaults command.

Changing Defaults

You can change the default access rights, owner, and group, by changing the value of the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable. Use the environment command that is appropriate for your shell (setenv for csh or $NIS_DEFAULTS=, export for sh and ksh) with the following arguments:

access=right, where right are the access rights using the formats described in Specifying Access Rights in Commands.
owner=name, where name is the user name of the owner.
group=group, where group is the name of the default group.

You can combine two or more arguments into one line separated by colons:

owner=principal-name:group=group-name

Changing Defaults--Examples
Tasks	Examples
This command grants owner read access as the default access right.	`client%` setenv NIS_DEFAULTS access=o+r
This command sets the default owner to be the user abe whose home domain is Wiz.com.	`client%` setenv NIS_DEFAULTS owner=abe.wiz.com.
This command combines the first two examples on one code line.	`client%` setenv NIS_DEFAULTS access=o+r:owner=abe.wiz.com.

All objects and entries created from the shell in which you changed the defaults will have the new values you specified. You cannot specify default settings for a table column or entry; the columns and entries simply inherit the defaults of the table.

Resetting the Value of NIS_DEFAULTS

You can reset the NIS_DEFAULTS variable to its original values, by typing the name of the variable without arguments, using the format appropriate to your shell:

For C shell:

client# unsetenv NIS_DEFAULTS

For Bourne or Korn shell:

client$ NIS_DEFAULTS=; export NIS_DEFAULTS

Flags

-d domain	Displays the home domain of the workstation from which the command was entered. Displays the value of /etc/defaultdomin environment variable.
-g group	Displays the group that would be assigned to the next object created from this shell. Displays the value of NIS_GROUP environment variable.
-h host	Displays the workstation's host name. Displays the value of uname -n environment variable.
-p principal	Displays the fully qualified user name or host name of the NIS+ principal who entered the nisdefaults command. Displays the value of gethostbyname() environment variable.
-r access_rights	Displays the access rights that will be assigned to the next object or entry created from this shell. Format: ----rmcdr---r---. Displays the value of NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable.
-s search_path	Displays the syntax of the search path, which indicate the domains that NIS+ will search through when looking for information. Displays the value of the NIS_PATH environment variable if it is set. Displays the value of NIS_PATH environment variable.
-t time_to_live	Displays the time-to-live that will be assigned to the next object created from this shell. The default is 12 hours. Displays the value of the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable.
-a all (terse)	Displays all seven defaults in terse format. Displays the value of the environment variable.
-v verbose	Display specified values in verbose mode. Displays the value of the environment variable.
Note You can use these options to display all default values or any subset of them.

Examples

To display all values in verbose format, type the nisdefaults command without arguments.

master% nisdefaults 
Principal Name : topadmin.wiz.com.
Domain Name    : Wiz.com.
Host Name      : rootmaster.wiz.com.
Group Name     : salesboss
Access Rights  : ----rmcdr---r---
Time to live   : 12:00:00:00:00
Search Path    : Wiz.com.

To display all values in terse format, add the -a option.
To display a subset of the values, use the appropriate options. The values are displayed in terse mode. For example, to display the rights and search path defaults in terse mode, type:
```
rootmaster% nisdefaults -rs
----rmcdr---r---
Wiz.com.
```
To display a subset of the values in verbose mode, add the -v flag.