Administering NIS Clients

The two methods for configuring a client machine to use NIS as its naming service are explained in this section.

• Broadcast method — The preferred method of configuring a client machine to use NIS. See How to Configure an NIS Client in Broadcast Mode for instructions.

• Server-list method — Another method for configuring a client machine by using the ypinit command to specify the servers. See How to Configure an NIS Client Using Specific NIS Servers for instructions.

How to Configure an NIS Client in Broadcast Mode

This is the preferred method for establishing an NIS client.

When you start the nis/client service, the service runs the ypbind command, which searches the local subnet for an NIS server. If a subnet is found, ypbind binds to it. This search is referred to as broadcasting. If no NIS server exists on the client's local subnet, ypbind fails to bind and the client machine cannot obtain namespace data from the NIS service. See How to Configure an NIS Client Using Specific NIS Servers for instructions.

1. Become an administrator.

   For more information, see How to Use Your Assigned Administrative Rights in Oracle Solaris 11.1 Administration: Security Services.

2. Set the NIS domain name.

   # domainname example.com

3. If needed, make changes to the name service switch.

   See Managing the Name Service Switch.

4. Start the NIS client services.

   # svcadm enable network/nis/domain
   # svcadm enable network/nis/client

How to Configure an NIS Client Using Specific NIS Servers

Before You Begin

The following procedure requires that the hostnames that are entered in step 3 can be resolved by DNS. If you are not using DNS or you type in a hostname instead of an IP address, make sure to add an appropriate entry for each NIS server to the /etc/hosts file on the client. For more information, see the ypinit(1M) man page.

1. Become an administrator.

   For more information, see How to Use Your Assigned Administrative Rights in Oracle Solaris 11.1 Administration: Security Services.

2. Set the NIS domain name.

   # domainname example.com
   # svcadm enable network/nis/domain

3. Run the client configuration script.

   # ypinit -c

   You are prompted to name the NIS servers from which the client obtains naming service information. You can list the master server and as many slave servers as you want. The servers that you list can be located anywhere in the domain. It is a better practice to first list the servers closest (in network terms) to the machine, than those servers that are located on more distant parts of the network.

Disabling the NIS Client Services

1. Become an administrator.

   For more information, see How to Use Your Assigned Administrative Rights in Oracle Solaris 11.1 Administration: Security Services.

2. Disable the NIS client services.

   # svcadm disable network/nis/domain
   # svcadm disable network/nis/client