Preface

NIS+ and DNS Setup and Configuration Guide describes how to set up and configure NIS+ and DNS name services on a network. It includes network planning instructions and a tutorial on how to use the NIS+ start-up scripts to easily configure a basic NIS+ namespace. The DNS chapters show you how to configure DNS clients and servers. This manual is part of the Solaris^(TM) 2.4 System and Network Administration manual set.

Who Should Use This Book

This book is for system and network administrators who want to set up a basic network using NIS+ or DNS. It assumes the reader is an experienced system administrator.

Although this book introduces networking concepts relevant to NIS+ and DNS, it makes no attempt to explain networking fundamentals or describe the administration tools offered by the Solaris environment. If you administer networks, this manual assumes you already know how they work and have already chosen your favorite tools.

(NIS+ and FNS Administration Guide contains a thorough description of the NIS+ system, a glossary of NIS+ terms, and a listing of common NIS+ error messages.)

How This Book Is Organized

Chapter 1, "Getting Started With NIS+," describes the methods of NIS+ setup and the minimum requirements of an NIS+ namespace.

The remainder of this book is divided into three parts:

Part 1 -- NIS+ Setup: Scripts

This part provides a tutorial on how to use the NIS+ setup scripts to establish and configure a NIS+ namespace. The scripts are the recommended method of setting up NIS+.

Chapter 2, "NIS+ Setup Scripts--Introduction," describes the NIS+ scripts and what they will and will not do.

Chapter 3, "Setting Up NIS+ With Scripts," takes you step-by-step through the configuring of an NIS+ namespace using the NIS+ scripts. At the end of this chapter are blank worksheets that you can use to determine your domain and server requirements.

Part 2--NIS+ Setup: Command Set

This part provides step-by-step instructions for setting up the components of an NIS+ namespace using the NIS+ command set. (If you are creating an entire NIS+ namespace from scratch, it is recommend that you use the set up scripts described in Part 1--NIS+ Setup: Scripts.)

Chapter 4, "Setting Up the Root Domain," provides step-by-step instructions for setting up the root domain, including using the NIS-compatibility mode.

Chapter 5, "Setting Up NIS+ Clients." provides step-by-step instructions for setting up an NIS+ client and includes three different initialization methods. These instructions apply to clients in both the root domain and subdomains, whether all-NIS+ or NIS-compatible.

Chapter 6, "Setting Up NIS+ Servers." provides step-by-step instructions for setting up any kind of NIS+ server except the root master.

Chapter 7, "Setting Up a Nonroot Domain," provides step-by-step instructions for creating and setting up a subdomain, including designating its master and replica servers.

Chapter 8, "Setting Up NIS+ Tables," provides step-by-step instructions for populating NIS+ tables with information from input files or NIS maps.

Chapter 9, "Setting Up the Name Service Switch," provides step-by-step instructions for setting up the name service switch to be used with NIS, NIS+, or DNS, as well as to provide backward compatibility with the +/- syntax.

Part 3 --DNS Setup

This part gives an overview of DNS (Domain Name System) and describes how to setup DNS clients and servers.

Chapter 10, "Introduction to DNS,"describes the structure of the Domain Name System.

Chapter 11, "Setting Up DNS Clients," describes how to configure a DNS client.

Chapter 12, "Setting Up DNS Servers," describes how to configure a DNS server.

Related Books

You can consult the following for more information on NIS+ and DNS. These books are also part of the Solaris 2.5 System and Network Administration manual set:

• NIS+ and FNS Administration Guide--describes how to customize and administer an existing NIS+ namespace.
• NIS+ Transition Guide--Describes how to make the transition from NIS to NIS+.

Additional books not part of the Solaris 2.5 manual set:

• DNS and Bind by Cricket Liu and Paul Albitz (O'Reilly, 1992).
• Managing NFS and NIS by Hal Stern (O'Reilly 1991).

What Typographic Changes and Symbols Mean

The following table describes the typographic changes used in this book.

Table P-1

Typeface or Symbol	Meaning	Example
AaBbCc123	The names of commands, files, and directories; on-screen computer output	Edit your .login file. Use ls -a to list all files. machine_name% You have mail.
AaBbCc123	What you type, contrasted with on-screen computer output	machine_name%su Password:
AaBbCc123	Command-line placeholder: replace with a real name or value	To delete a file, type rm filename.
AaBbCc123	Book titles, new words or terms, or words to be emphasized	Read Chapter 6 in User's Guide. These are called class options. You must be root to do this.

Shell Prompts in Command Examples

The following table shows the default system prompt and superuser prompt for the C shell, Bourne shell, and Korn shell.

Table P-2

Shell	Prompt
C shell prompt	machine_name%
C shell superuser prompt	machine_name#
Bourne shell and Korn shell prompt	$
Bourne shell and Korn shell superuser prompt	#