YPINIT(8) BSD System Manager's Manual YPINIT(8)NAME
ypinit — build and install NIS databases
SYNOPSIS
ypinit -m [domainname]
ypinit -s master_server [domainname]
ypinit -u [domainname]
DESCRIPTION
The ypinit utility is a script which sets up databases on a Network
Information Service (NIS) master or slave server.
On a master server, ypinit creates the /var/yp/$DOMAINNAME directory, the
/var/yp/ypservers file, and calls /var/yp/Makefile to create and populate
an initial set of NIS maps. The maps are created from local source files
using the yp_mkdb(8) utility. The utility will prompt the user for a
list of servers that support the specified domain; this list is used to
populate the ypservers map.
On a slave server, ypinit creates the /var/yp/$DOMAINNAME, populates it
with copies of the NIS maps from the master. The maps are obtained from
the master using the ypxfr(8) utility. The ypinit utility obtains the
list of maps to transfer in one of two ways: if the system is configured
as an NIS client and is bound to the master server, ypinit is able to use
the ypwhich(1) utility to obtain a list of maps exported by the master
server. If the system is not configured as a client of the NIS master,
ypinit uses a hardcoded list of maps, some of which may or may not actu‐
ally exist on the master. The system administrator can edit the ypinit
script and modify the map list if necessary. Otherwise, individual maps
can be transferred manually from the master using ypxfr(8).
OPTIONS
The ypinit utility supports the following options:
-m [domainname]
Set up a master server. By default, ypinit sets up a server for
the system default domain. The user can override this default by
specifying domainname explicitly. Maps are constructed from
scratch using local files as templates using the yp_mkdb(8) util‐
ity.
-s master_server [domainname]
Set up a slave server using master_name as the master. Maps are
copied from master_server to the slave using ypxfr(8). By
default, ypinit sets up a server for the system default domain.
The user can override this default by specifying domainname
explicitly.
-u [domainname]
Update the ypservers map on the master server. When a new slave
server is added to a domain, its hostname must be added to the
ypservers map so that yppush(8) can propagate updates on the mas‐
ter to all of the slaves.
FILES
/etc/bootparams Bootparams source file
/etc/ethers Ethers data source file
/etc/group Group source file
/etc/hosts Hostname/IP address source file
/etc/netid RPC netid source file
/etc/networks Networks source file
/etc/protocols Protocols source file
/etc/publickey RPC public key/secret key source file
/etc/services Services data source file
/etc/shells Shells source file
/var/yp/master.passwd Passwd database source file
/var/yp/netgroup Netgroup data source file
/var/yp/ypservers Ypservers source file (generated by ypinit)
SEE ALSOmknetid(8), revnetgroup(8), yp(8), yp_mkdb(8), yppush(8), ypserv(8),
ypxfr(8)HISTORY
This version of ypinit is based on the ypinit script in OpenBSD. It
first appeared in FreeBSD 3.0.
AUTHORS
The original script was written by Mats O Jansson ⟨moj@stacken.kth.se⟩.
It was modified for FreeBSD by Bill Paul ⟨wpaul@ctr.columbia.edu⟩.
BSD November 10, 1997 BSD
