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

Creating a New Table

An NIS+ table must have at least one column and at least one of its columns must be searchable. To create an NIS+ table, use the nistbladm command with the -c option:

nistbladm -c tabletype columnspec \
 ... tablename

Where:

Tabletype is simply a name that identifies a class of tables to which this table belongs. You can use any name you choose.
A columnspec specifies the name and characteristics of each column in a new table. Enter one columnspec for each column you want in your new table. Separate the columnspecs with spaces:

 nistbladm -c tabletype columnspec columnspec \
 columnspec tablename

Columnspec formats are described in Specifying Table Columns, below.

Specifying Table Columns

Each columnspec entry has two to four components in the format:

name=type,rights:

Table 19–3 Table Column Components


Component	Description
`name`	Name of the column
`=`	An equal sign which is required.
`type`	[Optional] The type of column specified by the letters `S`, `I` or `C` (see Table 19–4). This component is optional. If no `type` is specified, the column becomes the default type.
`rights`	[Optional] Access rights. These access rights are over and above those granted to the table as a whole or to specific entries. If no `access` is specified, the column's access rights are those granted to the table as a whole, or to the entry. The syntax for access rights is described in Specifying Access Rights in Commands.

A column can be one of the following types:

Table 19–4 Table Column Types


Type	Description
	No column type specified after the `=` sign. The column is neither searchable nor encrypted.
`S`	Searchable.
`I`	Searchable, but case-insensitive. When NIS+ commands search through the column, they will ignore case.
`C`	Encrypted.

NIS+ commands search through the column and identify individual table rows based on the contents of the searchable columns. Searchable columns are designated with either the S or the I option. In database terminology, a searchable column is a key. The first column in each table must be searchable. The remaining columns do not have to be searchable. Because the table is keyed on the searchable columns, if you have more than one searchable column, they must be the first and subsequent columns and not skip any columns. For example, if only one column in a table is searchable, it has to be the first column. If two columns are searchable, they must be the first two columns. (See nistbladm, Searchable Columns, Keys, and Column Values for more information on searchable columns.)

If you specify only access rights, you don't need to use a comma. If you include one or more of the -S, -I, or -C flags, add a comma before the access rights.

In the example below, a table is created with the addition of column-specific access rights applied to the first two columns:

master% nistbladm -c depts Name=I,w+m Site=w+m Name=C \
 divs.mydir.doc.com.

For more information about specifying column access rights when creating a table, see Setting Column Rights When Creating a Table.

Note –

NIS+ assumes that all column entries are null terminated. Applications and routines that write information to NIS+ tables must be configured to null terminate each column entry.

Creating Additional Automount Table

If you are creating an automount table, the table can have only two columns. The first column must be named key and the second column must be named value. For example, to create an automount table named auto1, you would enter:

master% nistbladm -c key-value key=S value= auto1.org_dir.doc.com.