NIS-LDAP Functional Equivalence

Using the Sun Directory Services, you can perform the same level of service as with NIS. Table 6-1 shows how the standard NIS functions are preserved in Sun Directory Services.

Table 6-1 LDAP-to-NIS Functional Equivalence

Sun Directory Services	Classic NIS	NIS Service
dsservd	ypserv	Server process that responds to NIS requests
dsyppasswdd	rpc.yppasswdd	Daemon used to modify the NIS passwd tables
dsypxfrd	ypxfrd	Daemon used to transfer NIS tables to synchronize master and slave servers
dsyppush	yppush	Command used on the master server to propagate updates to slave servers
dsypxfr	ypxfr	Command used on the slave NIS server to request an update from the NIS master
dsmakedbm	makedbm	Process that builds NIS tables from standard files
dsypinit	ypinit	Process that initializes NIS clients, NIS master servers and NIS slave servers
dsyprsvd	rpc.nisd_resolv	DNS access

dsservd

The dsservd daemon receives and responds to NIS requests in the same way as the NIS daemon ypserv. It supports NIS natively. It does not convert NIS requests to LDAP requests, and LDAP responses to NIS responses.

The dsservd daemon also maintains an up-to-date copy of the NIS tables so that propagation requests can be handled rapidly. It converts directory information to NIS tables based on the mapping information provided in the /etc/opt/SUNWconn/ldap/current/mapping/nis.mapping file.

For details of how to configure the dsservd daemon, refer to the dsservd(8) man page.

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Note -

The dsservd daemon is also the LDAP server.

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dsyppasswdd

The dsyppasswdd daemon manages changes to the password tables stored in the LDAP directory. It runs on the master server and responds to requests from users who invoke the passwd command to change their password, full name (in the gecos field) or shell. The dsyppasswdd daemon makes updates to the LDAP database, and also to the NIS passwd file. It also updates the shadow file when there is one.

For details of how to configure the dsyppasswdd daemon, refer to the dsyppasswdd(8) man page.

dsypxfrd

The dsypxfrd daemon manages the propagation of NIS tables from master servers to slave servers in the legacy NIS environment. It does not manage LDAP replication of NIS information. This process runs only on master servers.

The dsypxfrd daemon operates in the same way as the ypxfrd daemon in the NIS environment. It waits for a request from the dsypxfr process running on the slave server, then pushes the tables requested. To speed up the process the dsservd daemon holds an up-to-date copy of all NIS tables. This means that the NIS tables do not need to be built from the information held in the LDAP directory before they can be transferred.

For details of how to configure dsypxfrd, refer to the dsypxfrd(1m) man page.

dsyppush

The dsyppush command is used on a master server to propagate updates to NIS slave servers. It is called by the NIS Makefile in /var/yp. Also, when the Autopush option is set to On in the Admin Console, it is automatically activated when modifications are made to the directory.

For details on dsyppush, refer to the dsyppush(1m) man page.

dsypxfr

The dsypxfr command is used on a slave server to request updates from the NIS master server. It calls the dsypxfrd daemon that runs on the master server to update the local database. This update is performed using standard NIS propagation.

For details of how to use dsypxfr, refer to the dsypxfr(1m) man page.

dsmakedbm

The dsmakedbm command builds the NIS tables from the information held in the NIS source files. It is slightly different from the standard NIS makedbm command because it calls the dsimport utility to create NIS entries in the directory.

dsypinit

The dsypinit command is used to declare and initialize an NIS server as a master server or slave server. This command can also be used instead of the NIS standard ypinit command to initialize NIS clients.

For details of how to use dsypinit, refer to the dsypinit(1m) man page.

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Note -

Do not use dsypinit to initialize the NIS service. Use dsypinstall, as described in "To Initialize the NIS Service".

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dsyprsvd

The dsyprsvd daemon contacts the DNS server when the requested host information cannot be found in the NIS entries in the directory. This daemon runs only when the NIS server is configured to run in DNS interoperability mode. The NIS initialization script, dsypinstall, prompts you for this information.

For more information on dsyprsvd, refer to the dsyprsvd(1m) man page.