Booting invokes autofs by using the /etc/init.d/autofs script and checks for the master auto_master map. Autofs is subject to the rules that are discussed subsequently.
Autofs uses the name service that is specified in the automount entry of the /etc/nsswitch.conf file. If NIS+ is specified, as opposed to local files or NIS, all map names are used as is. If NIS is selected and autofs cannot find a map that autofs needs, but finds a map name that contains one or more underscores, the underscores are changed to dots. This change allows the old NIS file names to work. Then autofs checks the map again, as shown in Figure 15–4.
The screen activity for this session would resemble the following example.
$ grep /home /etc/auto_master /home auto_home $ ypmatch brent auto_home Can't match key brent in map auto_home. Reason: no such map in server's domain. $ ypmatch brent auto.home diskus:/export/home/diskus1/& |
If “files” is selected as the name service, all maps are assumed to be local files in the /etc directory. Autofs interprets a map name that begins with a slash (/) as local regardless of which name service autofs uses.