Setting Up NIS+ Servers

Now that the client machines have been initialized, you can change any of them to NIS+ servers of the following types:

• To be root replicas--to contain copies of the NIS+ tables that reside on the root master server

• To be master servers of subdomains of the root domain

• To be replicas of master servers of subdomains of the root domain

You can have only one NIS+ master root server. Root NIS+ servers are a special type of NIS+ server. This section does not describe how to configure a root master server; see "Setting Up NIS+ Root Servers" for more information.

You can configure servers any of these different ways:

• Without NIS compatibility

• With NIS compatibility

• With NIS compatibility and DNS forwarding--you only need to set DNS forwarding if you are going to have SunOS 4.x clients in your NIS+ namespace (see NIS+ Transition Guide for more information on using NIS-compatibility mode)

Servers and their replicas should have the same NIS-compatibility settings. If they do not have the same settings, a client that needs NIS compatibility set to receive network information may not be able to receive it if either the server or replica it needs is unavailable.

This example shows the machine client1 being changed to a server. This procedure uses the NIS+ rpc.nisd command instead of an NIS+ script.

Prerequisites to Running rpc.nisd

Before you can run rpc.nisd:

• The domain must have already been configured and its master server must be running.

• The master server of the domain's tables must be populated. (At a minimum, the hosts table must have an entry for the new client machine.)

• You must have initialized the client machine in the domain.

• You must be logged in as root on the client machine. In this example, the client machine is named client1.

• Optionally, if using DES authentication, the client machine must use the same Diffie-Hellman key configuration as that used on the master server.

Information You Need

You need the superuser password of the client that you will convert into a server.

Configuring a Client as an NIS+ Server

Perform any of the following to alternate procedures to configure a client as a server. These procedures create a directory with the same name as the server and create the server's initialization files which are placed in /var/nis.

All servers in the same domain must have the same NIS-compatibility setting. For example, if the master server is NIS compatible, then its replicas should also be NIS compatible.

How to Configure a Server Without NIS Compatibility

1. To configure a server without NIS compatibility, enter the following command:

   client1# rpc.nisd

How to Configure a Server With NIS Compatibility

1. Edit the /etc/init.d/rpc file on the server to uncomment the whole line containing the string -EMULYP="-Y".

   To do this, remove the # character from the beginning of the line.

2. Type the following as superuser.

   client1# rpc.nisd -Y

How to Configure a Server With DNS and NIS Compatibility

This procedure configures a NIS+ server with both DNS forwarding and NIS+ compatibility. Both of these features are needed to support SunOS 4.x clients.

1. Edit the /etc/init.d/rpc file on the server to uncomment the whole line containing the string EMULYP="-Y".

   To do this, remove the # character from the beginning of the line.

2. Add -B to the above line inside the quotes.

   The line should read:

   -EMULYP="-Y -B"

3. Type the following command as superuser.

   client1# rpc.nisd -Y -B

   Now this server is ready to be designated a master or replica of a domain.

Creating Additional Servers

Repeat the preceding client-to-server conversion procedure on as many client machines as you like.

The sample NIS+ domain described in this chapter assumes that you will convert three clients to servers. You will then configure one of the servers as a root replica, another as a master of a new subdomain, and the third as a replica of the master of the new subdomain.