Name Service Switch and nscd Enhancements

This system resource enhancement is new in the Solaris Express 11/06 release.

Starting with this release, the name service switch is updated. The name service switch includes nscd and all getXbyY interfaces that query files and network data from DNS, NIS, NIS+, or LDAP. The behavior of the name service switch enhancements is identical to previous Solaris Express releases.

The major functional change in the Solaris Express 11/06 release is that, when the you enable nscd, nscd performs all name service lookups. Prior to this release, nscd cached only a small subset of lookups. To enable nscd, type the following command:

# svcadm enable name-service-cache

nscd is normally enabled by default.

If incorrect name service behavior such as incorrect getXbyY results or nscd hangs, is detected while nscd is running, either restarting or disabling nscd should correct the behavior. To restart nscd type the following command:

# svcadm restart name-service-cache

Disabling nscd automatically forces applications to perform all their own name service lookups as in prior releases of Solaris Express. To disable nscd, type the following command:

# svcadm disable name-service-cache

nscd will use a naming service, such as NIS, NIS+, or LDAP, only if the Service Management Facility (SMF) has enabled that service.