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

Default NIS Maps

A default set of NIS maps are provided in the Solaris system. You might want to use all these maps or only some of them. NIS can also use whatever maps you create or add when you install other software products.

Default maps for an NIS domain are located in each server's /var/yp/domainname directory. For example, the maps that belong to the domain test.com are located in each server's /var/yp/test.com directory.

Table 4–3 describes the default NIS maps, information they contain, and whether the software consults the corresponding administrative files when NIS is running.

Table 4–3 NIS Map Descriptions


Map Name	Corresponding NIS Admin File	Description
`audit_user`	`audit_user`	Contains user auditing preselection data.
`auth_attr`	`auth_attr`	Contains authorization names and descriptions.
`bootparams`	`bootparams`	Contains path names of files clients need during boot: root, swap, possibly others.
`ethers.byaddr`	`ethers`	Contains machine names and Ethernet addresses. The Ethernet address is the key in the map.
`ethers.byname`	`ethers`	Same as `ethers.byaddr`, except the key is machine name instead of the Ethernet address.
`exec_attr`	`exec_attr`	Contains profile execution attributes.
`group.bygid`	`group`	Contains group security information with group ID as key.
`group.byname`	`group`	Contains group security information with group name as key.
`hosts.byaddr`	`hosts`	Contains machine name, and IP address, with IP address as key.
`hosts.byname`	`hosts`	Contains machine name and IP address, with machine (host) name as key.
`mail.aliases`	`aliases`	Contains aliases and mail addresses, with aliases as key.
`mail.byaddr`	`aliases`	Contains mail address and alias, with mail address as key.
`netgroup.byhost`	`netgroup`	Contains group name, user name and machine name.
`netgroup.byuser`	`netgroup`	Same as `netgroup.byhost`, except that key is user name.
`netgroup`	`netgroup`	Same as `netgroup.byhost`, except that key is group name.
`netid.byname`	`passwd, hosts` `group`	Used for UNIX-style authentication. Contains machine name and mail address (including domain name). If there is a `netid` file available it is consulted in addition to the data available through the other files.
`netmasks.byaddr`	`netmasks`	Contains network mask to be used with IP submitting, with the address as key.
`networks.byaddr`	`networks`	Contains names of networks known to your system and their IP addresses, with the address as key.
`networks.byname`	`networks`	Same as `networks.byaddr`, except key is name of network.
`passwd.adjunct.byname`	`passwd` and `shadow`	Contains auditing information and the hidden password information for C2 clients.
`passwd.byname`	`passwd` and `shadow`	Contains password information with user name as key.
`passwd.byuid`	`passwd` and `shadow`	Same as `passwd.byname`, except that key is user ID.
`prof_attr`	`prof_attr`	Contains attributes for execution profiles.
`protocols.byname`	`protocols`	Contains network protocols known to your network.
`protocols.bynumber`	`protocols`	Same as `protocols.byname`, except that key is protocol number.
`rpc.bynumber`	`rpc`	Contains program number and name of RPCs known to your system. Key is RPC program number.
`services.byname`	`services`	Lists Internet services known to your network. Key is port or protocol.
`services.byservice`	`services`	Lists Internet services known to your network. Key is service name.
`user_attr`	`user_attr`	Contains extended attributes for users and roles.
`ypservers`	N/A	Lists NIS servers known to your network.

New ipnodes maps (ipnodes.byaddr and ipnodes.byname) are added to NIS. The maps store both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.

Note –

Starting with the Solaris 10 8/07 release, the, Solaris OS does not have two separate hosts files. The /etc/inet/hosts file is the single hosts file that contains both IPv4 and IPv6 entries. You do not need to maintain IPv4 entries in two hosts files that always require synchronization. For backward compatibility, the /etc/inet/ipnodes file is replaced with a symbolic link of the same name to the /etc/inet/hosts file.

For more information, see the hosts(4) man page.

NIS clients and servers can communicate using either IPv4 or IPv6 RPC transports.

The ageing.byname mapping contains information used by yppasswdd to read and write password aging information to the DIT when the NIS-to-LDAP transition is implemented. If password aging is not being used, then it can be commented out of the mapping file. For more information about the NIS-to-LDAP transition, see Chapter 15, Transitioning From NIS to LDAP (Overview/Tasks).