System Administration Guide: Naming and Directory Services (NIS+)

ProcedureHow to Load NIS+ Namespace Data by Using the nisrestore Command

Use the nisrestore command to load data on to a replica server. In this example, the master server is named master1, and the new replica is named replica2.

Before You Begin

The NIS+ principal performing this operation must have modify rights to the domain's directory object.

  1. Stop the NIS+ service on the new replica server.

    This interrupts the automatic transfer of namespace data from the master to the replica with the nisping command.


    replica2# svcadm disable /network/rpc/nisplus:default
  2. Perform an NIS+ backup on the master server.

    This step is described in more detail in System Administration Guide: Naming and Directory Services (DNS, NIS, and LDAP). The example below shows how to use the nisbackup command to backup up the master1 server to the /var/master1_bakup directory.


    master1# nisbackup -a /var/master1_bakup

    The most convenient method of using nisrestore to configure a new replica is to back up the master's data to an NFS mounted directory that the new replica can access. This example assumes that both the master and the new replica server have access to the /var/master1_bakup directory.

    Another method is to use the tar command to copy the data from the /var/master1_bakup directory to some transferable storage media, such as a tape cartridge, then copy the data from storage media into a directory mounted on the new replica, then use that directory as the source for the nisrestore command, as described in Step 3.

  3. Download the NIS+ data set onto the new replica using the nisrestore command.

    This step is described in more detail in System Administration Guide: Naming and Directory Services (DNS, NIS, and LDAP). The example below shows how to use the nisrestore command to down load NIS+ data on to the client2 replica from the /var/master1_bakup directory.


    replica2# nisrestore -a /var/master1_bakup

    If the replica you are creating is for the root domain, or if you get an error message that nisrestore cannot verify or look up needed data, then use the nisrestore -f option. For example:


    replica2# nisrestore -f -a /var/master1_bakup
  4. Start the NIS+ service on the new replica.

    See How to Configure an NIS+ Server for details.