Updating NIS Tables

Once you have populated the directory in this way for the first time, you have two options for data maintenance:

• Make updates to the NIS files, and run make in the /var/yp directory

• Make updates to the entries in the directory, for example using the Deja tool

Making updates to the entries in the directory is the most efficient method of maintaining NIS information, however the directory content will no longer be synchronized with the contents of the NIS files. If you want to resynchronize, you can export the NIS entries held in the directory to the corresponding NIS files by using dsexport. For details, see the dsexport(1m) man page.

The NIS maps are regenerated periodically from the entries stored in the directory. However, you can rebuild a map at any time from the Admin Console using the Regenerate Map function. This function will only take into account the entries stored in the directory, not the NIS source files. To regenerate an NIS map from the directory entries:

1. In the NIS section of the Admin Console, highlight a map in the map list.

2. Optionally, set the Include All Directory Entries option to yes.

   This is useful if you want to regenerate a map immediately following the initialization of the NIS service, or if you have changed the mapping definition for that particular map in the nis.mapping file.

3. Click the Regenerate Map button.

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   Note -

   When you include in the NIS maps maintained by the directory server the entries that were present before you initialized the NIS service, you must ensure that these entries do not create a security risk for your NIS service. For example, because users have write access to their own directory entry, it is possible for a user to change the uid attribute to become root user.

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