Log in as superuser on the machine designated to be the root master server.
The examples in these steps use rootmaster as the root master server and doc.com. as the root domain.
Check the root master server's domain name.
Use the domainname command to make sure the root master server is using the correct domain name. The domainname command returns a workstation's current domain name.
Domains and hosts should not have the same name. For example, if you have a sales domain you should not have a machine named sales. Similarly, if you have a machine named home, you do not want to create a domain named home. This caution applies to subdomains; for example, if you have a machine named west, you don't want to create a sales.west.myco.com subdirectory.
If the name is not correct, change it.
rootmaster# domainname strange.domain rootmaster# domainname doc.com rootmaster# domainname rootmaster# doc.com rootmaster# rm -f /etc/defaultdomain rootmaster# domainname > /etc/defaultdomain |
(Do not include a trailing dot with the domainname command. The domainname command is not an NIS+ command, so it does not follow the NIS+ conventions of a trailing dot.)
The above example changes the domain name of the root master server from strange.domain to doc.com. When changing or establishing a domain name, make sure that it has at least two elements; for example, doc.com instead of doc. The final element should end in either an Internet organizational name (such as .com) or a geographical identifier (such as .jp or .uk).
Check the root master server's switch-configuration file.
Make sure the root master server is using the NIS+ version of the nsswitch.conf file, even if it will run in NIS-compatibility mode. This step ensures that the primary source of information for the root master will be NIS+ tables.
rootmaster# more /etc/nsswitch.conf |
This displays the current nsswitch.conf file. The primary name service referenced by this file should be nisplus. If the root master server's configuration file does not use nisplus as the primary name service, exchange it for one that does as explained in "Selecting a Different Configuration File".
If you made any changes at all to the nsswitch.conf file stop and restart the nscd daemon.
Because nscd caches the contents of the nsswitch.conf file, it is necessary to stop and restart nscd after any change to the switch file.
Complete instructions are provided in Chapter 1, Setting Up the Name Service Switch.
Now kill and restart keyserv, as shown below.
rootmaster# cp /etc/nsswitch.nisplus /etc/nsswitch.conf rootmaster# sh /etc/init.d/nscd stop rootmaster# sh /etc/init.d/nscd start rootmaster# ps -e | grep keyserv root 145 1 67 16:34:44 ? keyserv . . rootmaster# kill -9 145 rootmaster# rm -f /etc/.rootkey rootmaster# keyserv |
Clean out leftover NIS+ material and processes.
If the workstation you are working on was previously used as an NIS+ server or client, remove any files that might exist in /var/nis and kill the cache manager, if it is still running. In this example, a cold-start file and a directory cache file still exist in /var/nis:
rootmaster# ls /var/nis NIS_COLD_START NIS_SHARED_CACHE rootmaster# rm -rf /var/nis/* rootmaster# ps -ef | grep nis_cachemgr root 295 260 10 15:26:58 pts/0 0:00 grep nis_cachemgr root 286 1 57 15:21:55 ? 0:01 /usr/sbin/nis_cachemgr rootmaster# kill -9 286 |
This step makes sure files left in /var/nis or directory objects stored by the cache manager are completely erased so they do not conflict with the new information generated during this configuration process. If you have stored any admin scripts in /var/nis, you may want to consider temporarily storing them elsewhere, until you finish setting up the root domain.
Kill server daemons
If the workstation you are working on was previously used as an NIS+ server, check to see if rpc.nisd or rpc.nispasswdd is running. If either of these daemons is running, kill them.
Name the root domain's admin group.
Although you won't actually create the admin group until Step 15, you must identify it now. Identifying it now ensures that the root domain's org_dir directory object, groups_dir directory object, and all its table objects are assigned the proper default group when they are created in Step 13.
To name the admin group, set the value of the environment variable NIS_GROUP
to the name of the root domain's admin group. Here are two examples, one for csh
users, and one for sh/ksh
users. They both set NIS_GROUP
to admin.doc.com.
For C Shell
rootmaster# setenv NIS_GROUP admin.doc.com. |
For Bourne or Korn Shell
rootmaster# NIS_GROUP=admin.doc.com. rootmaster# export NIS_GROUP |
Create the root directory and initialize the root master server.
This step creates the first object in the namespace--the root directory--and converts the workstation into the root master server. Use the nisinit -r command, as shown below. (This is the only instance in which you will create a domain's directory object and initialize its master server in one step. In fact, nisinit -r performs an automatic nismkdir for the root directory. In any case, except the root master, these two processes are performed as separate tasks.)
rootmaster# nisinit -r This machine is in the doc.com. NIS+ domain Setting up root server ... All done. |
A UNIX directory with the name /var/nis/data is created.
Within the /var/nis directory is a file named root.object.
rootmaster# ls -l /var/nis/data -rw-rw-rw- 1 root other 384 date root.object |
This is not the root directory object; it is a file that NIS+ uses to describe the root of the namespace for internal purposes. The NIS+ root directory object will be created in Step 10 or Step 11.
In subsequent steps, other files will be added beneath the directory created in this step. Although you can verify the existence of these files by looking directly into the UNIX directory, NIS+ provides more appropriate commands. They are called out where applicable in the following steps.
Do not rename the /var/nis or /var/nis/data directories or any of the files in these directories that were created by nisinit or any of the other NIS+ configuration procedures. In Solaris Release 2.4 and earlier, the /var/nis directory contained two files named hostname. It also contained a subdirectory named /var/nis/hostname. In Solaris Release 2.5, the two files are named trans.log and data.dict, and the subdirectory is named /var/nis/data. In Solaris Release 2.5, the content of the files has also been changed and they are not backward compatible with Solaris Release 2.4 or earlier. Thus, if you rename either the directories or the files to match the Solaris Release 2.4 patterns, the files will not work with either the Solaris Release 2.4 or the Solaris Release 2.5 version of rpc.nisd. Therefore, you should not rename either the directories or the files.
[NIS-Compatibility only] Start the NIS+ daemon with -Y.
Perform this step only if you are setting up the root domain in NIS-compatibility mode; if setting up a standard NIS+ domain, perform Step 11 instead. This step includes instructions for supporting the DNS forwarding capabilities of NIS clients.
Substep a starts the NIS+ daemon in NIS-compatibility mode. Substep b makes sure that when the server is rebooted, the NIS+ daemon restarts in NIS-compatibility mode. After substep b ofStep b, go to Step 13.
Use rpc.nisd with the -Y, -B, and -S 0 options.
rootmaster# rpc.nisd -Y -B -S 0 options |
The -Y option invokes an interface that answers NIS requests in addition to NIS+ requests. The -B option supports DNS forwarding. The -S 0 flag sets the server's security level to 0, which is required at this point for bootstrapping. Because no cred table exists yet, no NIS+ principals can have credentials; if you used a higher security level, you would be locked out of the server.
Edit the /etc/init.d/rpc file.
Search for the string EMULYP="Y" in the /etc/init.d/rpc file. Uncomment the line and, to retain DNS forwarding capabilities, add the -B flag.
rpc file with DNS forwarding
EMULYP="-Y -B" |
rpc file without DNS forwarding
EMULYP="-Y" |
If you don't need to retain DNS forwarding capabilities, uncomment the line but don't add the -B flag.
[Standard NIS+ only] Start the NIS+ daemon.
Use the rpc.nisd and be sure to add the -S 0 flag.
rootmaster# rpc.nisd -S 0 |
The -S 0 flag sets the server's security level to 0, which is required at this point for bootstrapping. Because no cred table exists yet, no NIS+ principals can have credentials, and if used with a higher security level, you would be locked out of the server.
Verify that the root objects have been properly created.
As a result of Step 10 or Step 11, your namespace should now have:
A root directory object (root.dir)
A root master server (rootmaster) running the NIS+ daemon (rpc.nisd)
A transaction log file (trans.log)
A table dictionary file (data.dict).
The root directory object is stored in the directory created in Step 9. Use the ls command to verify that it is there.
rootmaster# ls -l /var/nis/data -rw-rw-rw- 1 root other 384 date root.object -rw-rw-rw- 1 root other 124 date root.dir |
At this point, the root directory is empty; in other words, it has no subdirectories. You can verify this by using the nisls command.
rootmaster# nisls -l doc.com. doc.com.: |
However, it has several object properties, which you can examine using niscat -o:
rootmaster# niscat -o doc.com. Object Name : doc Owner : rootmaster.doc.com. Group : admin.doc.com. Domain : Com. Access Rights : r---rmcdrmcdr--- |
Notice that the root directory object provides full (read, modify, create, and destroy) rights to both the owner and the group, while providing only read access to the world and nobody classes. (If your directory object does not provide these rights, you can change them using the nischmod command.)
To verify that the NIS+ daemon is running, use the ps command.
rootmaster# ps -ef | grep rpc.nisd root 1081 1 61 16:43:33 ? 0:01 rpc.nisd -S 0 root 1087 1004 11 16:44:09 pts/1 0:00 grep rpc.nisd |
The root domain's NIS_COLD_START file, which contains the Internet address (and, eventually, public keys) of the root master server, is placed in /var/nis. Although there is no NIS+ command that you can use to examine its contents, its contents are loaded into the server's directory cache (NIS_SHARED_DIRCACHE). You can examine those contents with the /usr/lib/nis/nisshowcache command.
Also created are a transaction log file (trans.log) and a dictionary file (data.dict). The transaction log of a master server stores all the transactions performed by the master server and all its replicas since the last update. You can examine its contents by using the nislog command. The dictionary file is used by NIS+ for internal purposes; it is of no interest to an administrator.
Create the root domain's subdirectories and tables.
This step adds the org_dir and groups_dir directories, and the NIS+ tables, beneath the root directory object. Use the nissetup utility. For an NIS-compatible domain, be sure to include the -Y flag. Here are examples for both versions:
Standard NIS+ only
rootmaster# /usr/lib/nis/nissetup |
NIS-compatible only
rootmaster# /usr/lib/nis/nissetup -Y |
Each object added by the utility is listed in the output:
rootmaster# /usr/lib/nis/nissetup org_dir.doc.com. created groups_dir.doc.com. created auto_master.org_dir.doc.com. created auto_home.org_dir.doc.com. created bootparams.org_dir.doc.com. created cred.org_dir.doc.com. created ethers.org_dir.doc.com. created group.org_dir.doc.com. created hosts.org_dir.doc.com. created mail_aliases.org_dir.doc.com. created sendmailvars.org_dir.doc.com. created netmasks.org_dir.doc.com. created netgroup.org_dir.doc.com. created networks.org_dir.doc.com. created passwd.org_dir.doc.com. created protocols.org_dir.doc.com. created rpc.org_dir.doc.com. created services.org_dir.doc.com. created timezone.org_dir.doc.com. created |
The -Y option creates the same tables and subdirectories as for a standard NIS+ domain, but assigns read rights to the passwd table to the nobody class so that requests from NIS clients, which are unauthenticated, can access the encrypted password in that column.
Recall that when you examined the contents of the root directory with nisls (in Step 11), it was empty. Now, however, it has two subdirectories.
rootmaster# nisls doc.com. doc.com.: org_dir groups_dir |
You can examine the object properties of the subdirectories and tables by using the niscat -o command. You can also use the niscat option without a flag to examine the information in the tables, although at this point they are empty.
Create DES credentials for the root master server.
The root master server requires DES credentials so that its own requests can be authenticated. To create those credentials, use the nisaddcred command, as shown below. When prompted, enter the server's root password.
rootmaster# nisaddcred des DES principal name: unix.rootmaster@doc.com Adding key pair for unix.rootmaster@doc.com (rootmaster.doc.com.). Enter login password: Wrote secret key into /etc/.rootkey |
If you enter a password that is different from the server's root password, you will get a warning message and a prompt to repeat the password:
Enter login password: nisaddcred: WARNING: password differs from login password. Retype password: |
You can persist and retype the same password, and NIS+ will still create the credential. The new password will be stored in /etc/.rootkey and be used by the keyserver when it starts up. To give the keyserver the new password right away, run keylogin -r, as described in the credentials chapter of Solaris Naming Administration Guide.
If you decide to use your login password after all, press Control-c and start the sequence over. If you were to retype your login password as encouraged by the server, you would get an error message designed for another purpose, but which in this instance could be confusing.
nisaddcred: WARNING: password differs from login password. Retype password: nisaddcred: password incorrect. nisaddcred: unable to create credential. |
As a result of this step, the root server's private and public keys are stored in the root domain's cred table (cred.org_dir.doc.com.) and its secret key is stored in /etc/.rootkey. You can verify the existence of its credentials in the cred table by using the niscat command. Since the default domain name is doc.com., you don't have to enter the cred table's fully qualified name; the org_dir suffix is enough. You can locate the root master's credential by looking for its secure RPC netname.
Create the root domain's admin group.
This step creates the admin group named in Step 8. Use the nisgrpadm command with the -c option. The example below creates the admin.doc.com. group.
rootmaster# nisgrpadm -c admin.doc.com. Group admin.doc.com. created. |
This step only creates the group--it does not identify its members. That is done in Step 16. To observe the object properties of the group, use niscat -o, but be sure to append groups_dir in the group's name.
doc.com. Object Name : admin Directory : groups_dir.doc.com Owner : rootmaster.doc.com. Group : admin.doc.com. Domain : groups_dir.doc.com. Access Rights : ----rmcdr---r--- Time to Live : 1:0:0 Object Type : GROUP Group Flags : Group Members : |
Add the root master to the root domain's admin group.
Since at this point the root master server is the only NIS+ principal that has DES credentials, it is the only member you should add to the admin group. Use the nisgrpadm command again, but with the -a option. The first argument is the group name, the second is the name of the root master server. This example adds rootmaster. doc.com. to the doc.com domain.
rootmaster# nisgrpadm -a admin.doc.com. rootmaster.doc.com. Added rootmaster.doc.com. to group admin.doc.com. |
To verify that the root master is indeed a member of the group, use the nisgrpadm command with the -l option (see the groups chapter of Solaris Naming Administration Guide).
With group-related commands such as nisgrpadm, you don't have to include the groups_dir subdirectory in the name. You need to include that directory with commands like niscat because they are designed to work on NIS+ objects in general. The group-related commands are "targeted" at the groups_dir subdirectory.
rootmaster# nisgrpadm -l admin.doc.com. Group entry for admin.doc.com. group: Explicit members: rootmaster.doc.com. No implicit members No recursive members No explicit nonmembers No implicit nonmembers No recursive nonmembers |
Update the root domain's public keys.
Normally, directory objects are created by an NIS+ principal that already has DES credentials. In this case, however, the root master server could not acquire DES credentials until after it created the cred table (since there was no parent domain in which to store its credentials). As a result, three directory objects--root, org_dir, and groups_dir--do not have a copy of the root master server's public key. (You can verify this by using the niscat -o command with any of the directory objects. Look for the public key field. Instructions are provided in the directories chapter of Solaris Naming Administration Guide.)
To propagate the root master server's public key from the root domain's cred table to those three directory objects, use the /usr/lib/nis/nisupdkeys utility for each directory object.
rootmaster# /usr/lib/nis/nisupdkeys doc.com. rootmaster# /usr/lib/nis/nisupdkeys org_dir.doc.com. rootmaster# /usr/lib/nis/nisupdkeys groups_dir.doc.com. |
After each instance, you will see a confirmation message such as this one:
Fetch Public key for server rootmaster.doc.com. netname = 'unix.rootmaster@doc.com.' Updating rootmaster.doc.com.'s public key. Public key: |
If you look in any of those directories (use niscat -o), you will see this entry in the public key field:
Public key: Diffie-Hellman (192 bits) |
Start the NIS+ cache manager.
The cache manager maintains a local cache of location information for an NIS+ client (in this case, the root master server). It obtains its initial set of information from the client's cold-start file (created in Step 10 or Step 11), and downloads it into a file named NIS_SHARED_DIRCACHE in /var/nis.
To start the cache manager, enter the nis_cachemgr command as shown below.
rootmaster# nis_cachemgr |
After the cache manager has been started, you have to restart it only if you have explicitly killed it. You don't have to restart it if you reboot, since the NIS_COLD_START file in /var/nis starts it automatically when the client is rebooted. For more information about the NIS+ cache manager, see the directories chapter of Solaris Naming Administration Guide.
Restart the NIS+ daemon with security level 2.
Now that the root master server has DES credentials and the root directory object has a copy of the root master's public key, you can restart the root master with security level 2. First kill the existing daemon, then restart with security level 2.
Standard NIS+ domain only:
rootmaster# ps -e | grep rpc.nisd 1081 ? 0:03 rpc.nisd -s 0 rootmaster# kill 1081 rootmaster# rpc.nisd |
For an NIS-compatible root domain, be sure to use the -Y (and -B) flags:
NIS-compatible NIS+ domain
rootmaster# ps -e | grep rpc.nisd 1081 ? 0:03 rpc.nisd -Y -B -s 0 rootmaster# kill 1081 rootmaster# rpc.nisd -Y -B |
Since security level 2 is the default, you don't need to use an -S 2 flag.
Operational networks with actual users should always be run at security level 2. Security levels 0 and 1 are for configuration and testing purposes only. Do not run an operational network at level 0 or 1.
Add your LOCAL credentials to the root domain.
Because you don't have access rights to the root domain's cred table, you must perform this operation as superuser. In addition, the root master's /etc/passwd file must contain an entry for you. Use the nisaddcred command with the -p and -P flags as shown below.
nisaddcred -p uid -P principal-name local |
The principal-name consists of the administrator's login name and domain name. This example adds a LOCAL credential for an administrator with a UID of 11177 and an NIS+ principal name of topadmin.doc.com.
rootmaster# nisaddcred -p 11177 -P topadmin.doc.com. local |
For more information about the nisaddcred command, see the credentials chapter of Solaris Naming Administration Guide.
Add your DES credentials to the root domain.
Use the nisaddcred command again, but with the following syntax:
nisaddcred -p secure-RPC-netname- P principal-name des |
The secure-RPC-netname consists of the prefix unix followed by your UID, the symbol @, and your domain name, but without a trailing dot. The principal-name is the same as for LOCAL credentials: your login name followed by your domain name, with a trailing dot.
rootmaster# nisaddcred -p unix.11177@doc.com -P topadmin.doc.com. des Adding key pair for unix.11177@doc.com (topadmin.doc.com.). Enter login password: |
If, after entering your login password, you get a password that differs from the login password warning, yet the password you entered is your correct login password, ignore the error message. The message appears because NIS+ cannot read the protected /etc/shadow file that stores the password, as expected. The message would not have appeared if you had no user password information stored in the /etc/passwd file.
Add credentials for other administrators.
Add the credentials, both LOCAL and DES, of the other administrators who will work in the root domain. You can do this in three different ways.
An easy way to create temporary credentials for the other administrators is to use Solstice AdminSuite (if you have it available) running in NIS+ mode.
A second way is to ask them to add their own credentials. However, they will have to do this as superuser. Here is an example that adds credentials for an administrator with a UID of 33355 and a principal name of miyoko.doc.com.
rootmaster# nisaddcred -p 33355 -P miyoko.doc.com. local rootmaster# nisaddcred -p unix.33355@doc.com -P miyoko.doc.com. des Adding key pair for unix.33355@doc.com (miyoko.doc.com.). Enter login password: |
A third way is for you to create temporary credentials for the other administrators, using dummy passwords. (Note that the other administrator, in this example miyoko, must have an entry in the NIS+ passwd table. If no such entry exists, you must first create one with nistbladm. The example below includes that step.)
rootmaster# nistbladm -D owner=miyoko.doc.com. name=miyoko uid=33355 gcos=miyoko home=/home/miyoko shell=/bin/tcsh passwd.org_dir rootmaster# nisaddent -a -f /etc/passwd.xfr passwd rootmaster# nisaddent -a -f /etc/shadow.xfr shadow rootmaster# nisaddcred -p 33355 -P miyoko.doc.com. local rootmaster# nisaddcred -p unix.33355@doc.com -P miyoko.doc.com. des Adding key pair for unix.33355@doc.com (miyoko.doc.com.). Enter miyoko's login password: nisaddcred: WARNING: password differs from login passwd. Retype password: rootmaster# nischown miyoko.doc.com. '[name=miyoko],passwd.org_dir' |
In this case, the first instance of nisaddent populates the passwd table--except for the password column. The second instance populates the shadow column. Each administrator can later change his or her network password using the chkey command. The credentials chapter of Solaris Naming Administration Guide describes how to do this.
Add yourself and other administrators to the root domain's admin group.
You don't have to wait for the other administrators to change their dummy passwords to perform this step. Use the nisgrpadm command with the -a option. The first argument is the group name, the remaining arguments are the names of the administrators. This example adds two administrators, topadmin and miyoko, to the admin.doc.com. group:
rootmaster# nisgrpadm -a admin.doc.com. topadmin.doc.com. miyoko.doc.com. Added topadmin.doc.com. to group admin.doc.com. Added miyoko.doc.com. to group admin.doc.com. |