System Administration Guide: Naming and Directory Services (DNS, NIS, and LDAP)

The Switch File and Password Information


Caution – Caution –

files should be the first source in the nsswitch.conf file for passwd information. If files is not the first source, network security could be weakened and users could encounter log in difficulty.


For example, in an NIS+ environment, the passwd line of the nsswitch.conf file should look like the following.


passwd: files nisplus

In an NIS environment, the passwd line of the nsswitch.conf file should look like the following.


passwd: files nis