NFS Services Administrator's Guide

Configuring and Administering NIS+
Overview of NIS+
Chapter 5 203
Structure of the NIS+ Namespace
An NIS+ namespace may be “flat,” consisting of a single domain, or it
may be hierarchical, like the DNS domain structure. Every namespace
has exactly one root domain. All other domains are subdomains of the
root domain. Figure 5-1 shows a sample hierarchical NIS+ namespace.
The master server of the root domain is the root master server. Master
servers of subdomains are called non-root master servers. NIS+
backup servers are called replica servers. Replica servers are the NIS+
equivalent of slave servers in an NIS domain. The replica servers of the
root domain are called root replica servers, and the replica servers of
the non-root domains are called non-root replica servers. A server
may serve more than one domain, but it is not recommended.
All NIS+ servers must also be NIS+ clients. The root master and root
replica servers are clients of the root domain. However, a non-root server
serves a subdomain of the domain in which it is a client. The domain in
which it is a client is the parent domain of the domain it serves.
Figure 5-1 Sample NIS+ Namespace
client
root master server
client
root replica server
client
master server
client
master server
client
replica server
client client client client
client
replica server
Sales.Wiz.Com domain (subdomain) Eng.Wiz.Com domain (subdomain)
Wiz.Com domain (root domain)