The NIS+ mail_aliases table contains the names by which a system or person is known in the local domain. The sendmail program can use the NIS+ mail_aliases table, instead of the local /etc/mail/aliases files, to determine mailing addresses. Refer to the aliasadm(1M) and nsswitch.conf(4) man pages for more information.
Aliases in the NIS+ mail_aliases table adhere to the following format:
alias: expansion # ["options " # "comments"] |
Table 26–12 describes the four columns that are in an NIS+ mail_aliases table.
Table 26–12 Columns in the NIS+ mail_aliases Table
Column |
Description |
---|---|
alias |
The name of the alias |
expansion |
The value of the alias or a list of aliases as it would appear in a sendmail /etc/mail/aliases file |
options |
The column that is reserved for future use |
comments |
The column for comments about an individual alias |
The NIS+ mail_aliases table should contain entries for all mail clients. You can list, create, modify, and delete entries in the NIS+ aliases table with the aliasadm command. To use the aliasadm command, you must be a member of the NIS+ group that owns the aliases table. For task information, refer to How to Manage Alias Entries in an NIS+ mail_aliases Table in Chapter 25, Mail Services (Tasks). Alternately, you can use the AdminTool's Database Manager to administer the NIS+ mail aliases.
If you are creating a new NIS+ aliases table, you must initialize the table before you create the entries. If the table exists, no initialization is needed.