nisinit(1M)




NAME

     nisinit - NIS+ client and server initialization utility


SYNOPSIS

     nisinit -r

     nisinit -p Y | D | N parent_domain host...

     nisinit -c [-k <key_domain>] -H host | -B | -C coldstart


DESCRIPTION

     nisinit initializes a machine to be a NIS+ client or an NIS+
     root master server. It may be easier to use nisclient(1M) or
     nisserver(1M) to accomplish this same task.


OPTIONS

     -r    Initialize the machine to be a  NIS+ root server. This
           option  creates the file /var/nis/data/root.object and
           initialize  it  to  contain  information  about   this
           machine.  It  uses  the   sysinfo(2)  system  call  to
           retrieve the name of the default domain.

           To initialize the machine as an NIS+ root  server,  it
           is  advisable to use the "-r" option of nisserver(1M),
           instead of using "nisinit -r".

     -p  Y | D | N parent_domain host ...
           This option is used on a root server to  initialize  a
           /var/nis/data/parent.object to make this domain a part
           of the namespace above it. Only root servers can  have
           parent   objects.   A   parent  object  describes  the
           namespace ``above'' the NIS+ root. If this is an  iso-
           lated  domain,  this  option  should  not be used. The
           argument to this option tells the command what type of
           name  server  is  serving  the  domain  above the NIS+
           domain. When clients attempt to resolve a name that is
           outside   of  the   NIS+  namespace,  this  object  is
           returned with the error NIS_FOREIGNNS indicating  that
           a  name  space  boundary has been reached. It is up to
           the client to continue the name resolution process.

           The parameter parent_domain is the name of the  parent
           domain  in  a  syntax  that  is native to that type of
           domain. The list of host names that follow the  domain
           parameter are the names of hosts that serve the parent
           domain. If there is more than one server for a  parent
           domain,  the first host specified should be the master
           server for that domain.

           Y     Specifies that the parent  directory  is  a  NIS
                 version 2 domain.

           D     Specifies that the parent  directory  is  a  DNS
                 domain.

           N     Specifies that the parent directory  is  another
                 NIS+  domain. This option is useful for connect-
                 ing a pre-existing  NIS+ subtree into the global
                 namespace.

           Note that in the  current  implementation,  the   NIS+
           clients do not take advantage of the -p feature. Also,
           since the parent object is currently not replicated on
           root  replica  servers,  it  is  recommended that this
           option not be used.

     -c    Initializes the machine to be a NIS+ client. There are
           three  initialization options available: initialize by
           coldstart, initialize by hostname, and  initialize  by
           broadcast.  The most secure mechanism is to initialize
           from a trusted coldstart file. The second option is to
           initialize  using  a  hostname  that  you specify as a
           trusted host. The third method  is  to  initialize  by
           broadcast and it is the  least secure method.

           -C coldstart
                 Causes the file coldstart to be used as a proto-
                 type  coldstart  file  when  initializing a NIS+
                 client. This coldstart file can be copied from a
                 machine  that  is  already  a client of the NIS+
                 namespace. For maximum security, an  administra-
                 tor  can  encrypt and encode (with uuencode(1C))
                 the coldstart file and mail it to an administra-
                 tor  bringing up a new machine. The new adminis-
                 trator  would  then  decode   (with   uudecode),
                 decrypt, and then use this file with the nisinit
                 command to initialize the  machine  as  an  NIS+
                 client.  If  the  coldstart file is from another
                 client in the same domain, the  nisinit  command
                 may  be  safely skipped and the file copied into
                 the         /var/nis        directory         as
                 /var/nis/NIS_COLD_START.

           -H hostname
                 Specifies that the host hostname should be  con-
                 tacted  as  a  trusted  NIS+ server. The nisinit
                 command will iterate over each transport in  the
                 NETPATH environment variable and attempt to con-
                 tact  rpcbind(1M) on that machine. This hostname
                 must  be  reachable  from the client without the
                 name service running. For IP networks this means
                 that  there  must be an entry in  /etc/hosts for
                 this host when nisinit is invoked.

           -B    Specifies that the nisinit command should use an
                 IP   broadcast  to  locate  a NIS+ server on the
                 local subnet. Any machine that  is  running  the
                 NIS+  service may answer. No guarantees are made
                 that the server that answers is a server of  the
                 organization's  namespace.  If  this  option  is
                 used, it is advisable to check with your  system
                 administrator that the server and  domain served
                 are valid. The binding information can be dumped
                 to     the    standard    output    using    the
                 nisshowcache(1M) command.

           Note that nisinit -c will just  enable  navigation  of
           the   NIS+  name space from this client.  To make NIS+
           your name service, modify the file  /etc/nsswitch.conf
           to  reflect  that.   See   nsswitch.conf(4)  for  more
           details.

     -k <key_domain>
           This option specifies the domain where root's  creden-
           tials  are  stored.  If  it is not specified, then the
           system default domain is assumed. This domain name  is
           used to create the /var/nis/NIS_COLD_START file.


RETURN VALUES

     nisinit returns 0 on success and 1 on failure.


EXAMPLES

     Example 1: Initializing the Machine as a  NIS+ Client  using
     the Host freddy as a Trusted Server

     This example initializes the  machine  as  an   NIS+  client
     using the host freddy as a trusted server.

     example# nisinit -cH freddy

     Example 2: Setting up a Client  using  a  Trusted  Coldstart
     File

     This example sets up a  client  using  a  trusted  coldstart
     file.

     example# nisinit -cC /tmp/colddata

     Example 3: Setting up a Client Using an IP Broadcast

     This example sets up a client using an IP broadcast.

     example# nisinit -cB

     Example 4: Setting up a Root Server

     This example sets up a root server.

     example# nisinit -r


ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

     NETPATH
           This environment variable may be set to the transports
           to  try  when contacting the NIS+ server (see  netcon-
           fig(4)). The client library will only attempt to  con-
           tact the server using connection oriented transports.


FILES

     /var/nis/NIS_COLD_START
           This file contains a list of servers, their  transport
           addresses, and their Secure RPC public keys that serve
           the machine's default domain.

     /var/nis/data/root.object
           This file  describes  the  root  object  of  the  NIS+
           namespace. It is a standard XDR-encoded NIS+ directory
           object that can  be  modified  by  authorized  clients
           using the nis_modify() interface.

     /var/nis/data/parent.object
           This file describes the namespace  that  is  logically
           above  the  NIS+  namespace.  The  most common type of
           parent object is a DNS object.  This  object  contains
           contact information for a server of that domain.

     /etc/hosts
           Internet host table.


ATTRIBUTES

     See attributes(5) for descriptions of the  following  attri-
     butes:

     ____________________________________________________________
    |       ATTRIBUTE TYPE        |       ATTRIBUTE VALUE       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Availability                | SUNWnisu                    |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|


SEE ALSO

     nis+(1),   uuencode(1C),    nisclient(1M),    nisserver(1M),
     nisshowcache(1M),  sysinfo (2), hosts(4), netconfig(4), nis-
     files(4), attributes(5)


NOTES

     NIS+ might not  be  supported  in  future  releases  of  the
     SolarisTM  Operating Environment. Tools to aid the migration
     from NIS+ to LDAP are available in the Solaris  9  operating
     environment.      For      more      information,      visit
     http://www.sun.com/directory/nisplus/transition.html.


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