Creating an NIS+ Root Replica Server

To have regularly available NIS+ service, you should always create one or more root replica servers. Having replicas can also speed network-request resolution because multiple servers are available to handle requests.

For performance reasons, you should have no more than a few replicas per domain.

If your network includes multiple subnets or different sites connected by a Wide Area Network (WAN), you may need additional replicas:

Subnets. If you have a domain that spans multiple subnets, it is a good idea to have at least one replica server within each subnet so that if the connection between nets is temporarily out of service, each subnet can continue to function until the connection is restored.
Remote sites. If you have a domain spanning multiple sites linked over a WAN, it is a good idea to have at least one replica server on each side of the WAN link. For example, it may make sense from an organizational point of view to have two physically distant sites in the same NIS+ domain. If the domain's master server and all of its replicas are at the first site, there will be much NIS+ network traffic between the first and second sites. Creating an additional replica at the second site should reduce network traffic.

See Creating an NIS+ Root Replica Server for additional information on how to determine the optimum number of replicas.

How to Create an NIS+ Root Replica shows the machine client1 being configured as a root replica for the doc.com. domain. This procedure uses the NIS+ nisserver script. (You can also use the NIS+ command set to configure a replica server as described in Using NIS+ Commands to Configure a Replica Server.)

How to Create an NIS+ Root Replica

Before You Begin

You need the following information to run nisserver.

The domain name
The client machine name; (client1, in this example)
The superuser password for the root master server

Before you run nisserver to create a replica, be sure the following prerequisites have been met.

The domain must already have been configured and its master server must be running.
The tables of the master server must be populated. (At a minimum, the hosts table must have an entry for the new client machine.)
You must have initialized the new server as a client machine in the domain, as described in Setting Up NIS+ Client Machines.
You must have started the NIS+ service, rpc.nisd, on the new replica server, as described in Setting Up NIS+ Servers.
You must be logged in as root on the root master server. In this example, the root master machine is named master1.

To create a root replica, type the following command as superuser (root) on the NIS+ domain's root master server.
```
master1# nisserver -R -d doc.com. -h client1
This script sets up an NIS+ replica server for domain doc.com.
Domain name: :doc.com.
NIS+ server    : :client1
Is this information correct? (type 'y' to accept, 'n' to change)
```
The -R option indicates that a replica should be configured. The -d option specifies the NIS+ domain name (doc.com., in this example). The -h option specifies the client machine (client1, in this example) that will become the root replica.

Type y to continue.

Typing n causes the script to prompt you for the correct information. (See How to Change Incorrect Information When Setting Up NIS+ for what you need to do if you type n.)

Is this information correct? (type 'y' to accept, 'n' to change) 
y
This script will set up machine “client1” as an NIS+ replica server for domain 
doc.com. without NIS compatibility. The NIS+ server daemon, rpc.nisd, must 
be running on client1 with the proper options to serve this domain. 
Do you want to continue? (type 'y' to continue, 'n' to exit this script)

Type y to continue.
Typing n safely stops the script. The script will exit on its own if rpc.nisd is not running on the client machine.
```
Is this information correct? (type 'y' to continue, 'n' to exit this script)
y
The system client1 is now configured as a replica server for domain doc.com..
The NIS+ server daemon, rpc.nisd, must be running on client1 with the proper 
options to serve this domain. ... 
```
Note - If you want to run this replica in NIS (YP) compatibility mode, modify the /lib/svc/method/nisplus file to add the -Y option. The file needs modification only if you want the root replica to fulfill NIS client requests and it was not already configured as an NIS-compatible server. See Configuring a Client as an NIS+ Server for more information about creating NIS-compatible servers and NIS+ and the Service Management Facility for more information about using Service Management Facility commands with NIS+.
[Optional] Configure the replica to run in NIS (YP) compatibility mode.
If you want this replica to run in NIS compatibility mode, follow these steps:
1. Stop the NIS+ service.
```
# svcadm disable /network/rpc/nisplus:<instance>
```
2. Edit the server's /lib/svc/method/nisplus file to add the -Y option.
3. Restart the NIS+ service.
```
# svcadm enable /network/rpc/nisplus:<instance>
```
Load your namespace data on to the new replica server.
You can do this in two ways:
- The preferred method of loading data on to a new replica server is to use the NIS+ backup and restore capabilities to back up the master server, then “restore” that data on to the new replica server. This step is described in detail in How to Load NIS+ Namespace Data by Using the nisrestore Command.
- Run nisping. Running nisping initiates a full resynch of all NIS+ data from the master server to this new replica. If your namespace is large, this can take a long time, during which your master server is very busy and slow to respond and your new replica is unable to answer NIS+ requests. This step is described in detail in How to Load NIS+ Namespace Data by Using the nisping Command.
When you have finished loading your namespace data, the machine client1 is now an NIS+ root replica. The new root replica can handle requests from the clients of the root domain. Because there are now two servers available to the domain, information requests can be fulfilled faster.
Using these procedures, you can create as many root replicas as you need. You can also use these procedures to create replica servers for subdomains.

How to Set Up Multihomed NIS+ Replica Servers

The procedure for setting up a multihomed NIS+ server is the same as setting up a single interface server. The only difference is that there are more interfaces that need to be defined in the hosts database, the /etc/hosts file and NIS+ hosts table.

Note - Prior to the Solaris 10 7/07 release, you also need to define interfaces in the /etc/inet/ipnodes file and ipnodes table.

Once the host information is defined, use the nisclient and nisserver scripts to set up the multihomed NIS+ server.

Caution - When setting up a multihomed NIS+ server, the server's primary name must be the same as the nodename for the system. This is a requirement of both Secured RPC and nisclient.

Secured RPC relies on the nodename to create the netname for authentication.
nisclient relies on the primary name to create the credential for the client.

If these names are different, Secure RPC authentication will fail to work properly causing NIS+ problems.

This procedure shows how to set up any NIS+ non-root master servers. The following example creates a replica for the root domain. For information about setting up a multihomed root server, see How to Set Up a Multihomed NIS+ Root Master Server.

Add the server host information into the hosts file.
Note - Prior to the Solaris 10 7/07 release, you must also load IPv6 server host information into the client's ipnodes file.

For example, for the hostB system with three interfaces:
```
192.168.11.y hostB hostB-11
192.168.12.x hostB hostB-12
192.168.14.z hostB hostB-14
 
```
On the root master server, use either nispopulate or nisaddent to load the new host information into the hosts file.
Note - Prior to the Solaris 10 7/07 release, you must also load host IPv6 information into the client's ipnodes table.

For example:
```
hostA# nispopulate -F -d sun.com hosts
```
where the example shows sun.com as the NIS+ root domain name. Issue the nispopulate command specifying the name of your NIS+ root domain name.
On the root master server, use the nisclient script to create the credential for the new client.
For example:
```
hostA# nisclient -c -d sun.com hostB
```
where the example shows sun.com as the root domain name. Issue the nisclient command specifying the name of your root domain name.
On the non-root master server, use nisclient to start the new server if it is not already running and initialize the machine as an NIS+ client.
For example:
```
hostB# nisclient -i -d sun.com
```
where the example shows sun.com as the root domain name. Issue the nisclient command specifying the name of your root domain name.
On the root master server, use nisserver to create a non-root master.
For example:
```
hostA# nisserver -M -d eng.sun.com -h hostB.sun.com.
```
where the example shows eng.sun.com as the NIS+ domain name and hostB.sun.com as the fully-qualified hostname for the NIS+ server. Issue the nisserver command specifying the name of your NIS+ domain and the fully-qualified hostname for the NIS+ server.
On the root master server, use nisserver to set up a replica server.
For example:
```
hostA# nisserver -R -d sun.com -h hostB.sun.com.
```
where the example shows sun.com as the replica server and hostB.sun.com as the fully-qualified hostname for the NIS+ server. Issue the nisserver command specifying the name of your replica server and NIS+ domain.
After completing the steps for setting up a multihome NIS+ replica server, the remainder of the setup is exactly the same as for a single interface server.

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