Setting NIS+ Default Security Values

This section describes how to perform tasks related to the nisdefaults command, the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable, and the -D option.

The NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable specifies the following default values:

• Owner

• Group

• Access rights

• Time-to-live

The values that you set in the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable are the default values applied to all NIS+ objects that you create using that shell (unless overridden by using the -D option with the command that creates the object).

You can specify the default values (owner, group, access rights, and time-to-live) specified with the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable. Once you set the value of NIS_DEFAULTS, every object you create from that shell will acquire those defaults, unless you override them by using the -D option when you invoke a command.

Displaying the Value of the NIS+ NIS_DEFAULTS Variable

You can check the setting of an environment variable by using the echo command, as shown below:

client% echo $NIS_DEFAULTS
owner=butler:group=gamblers:access=o+rmcd

You can also display a general list of the NIS+ defaults active in the namespace by using the nisdefaults command as described in Displaying NIS+ Defaults With nisdefaults.

Changing NIS+ Defaults

You can change the default access rights, owner, and group, by changing the value of the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable.

Use the environment command that is appropriate for your shell (setenv for C-shell or $NIS_DEFAULTS=, export for Bourne and Korn shells) with the following arguments:

• access=right, where right are the access rights using the formats described in Specifying NIS+ Access Rights in Commands.

• owner=name, where name is the user name of the owner.

• group=group, where group is the name of the default group.

You can combine two or more arguments into one line separated by colons:

-owner=principal-name:-group=group-name

Table 15–10 shows some examples.

All objects and entries created from the shell in which you changed the defaults will have the new values you specified. You cannot specify default settings for a table column or entry; the columns and entries simply inherit the defaults of the table.

Resetting the Value of NIS_DEFAULTS

You can reset the NIS_DEFAULTS variable to its original values, by typing the name of the variable without arguments, using the format appropriate to your shell:

For C shell

client# unsetenv NIS_DEFAULTS

For Bourne or Korn shell

client$ NIS_DEFAULTS=; export NIS_DEFAULTS