Network Information Service (NIS) B.11.31.04 Administrator's Guide

This command transfers the hosts database from the NIS master server to the
server where you issue the command.
4. If the NIS client is bound to a slave server, use the following procedure to ensure
that the slave server is listed in the NIS master server’s ypservers database:
a. Run the following command on the NIS client to determine the server to which
the client is bound to:
# /usr/bin/ypwhich
b. Log in as root to the NIS master server and run the following command to
change to the directory where the domain databases reside:
# cd /var/yp/domainname
c. On the NIS master server, run the following command to write the contents of
the ypservers database to a temporary file:
# /usr/sbin/makedbm -u ypservers > tempfile
d. If the NIS slave server is not listed in tempfile, use a text editor to add it, and
then run the following command to rebuild the ypservers database:
# /usr/sbin/makedbm tempfile ypservers
e. Log in to the NIS slave server and run the following command:
# /usr/sbin/ypxfr ypservers
An NIS Client Cannot Bind to a Server
If an NIS client is trying to bind to a server and any of the NIS commands return any
of the following messages:
ypcat: can’t bind to an NIS server for domain domainname
ypmatch: can’t match key. Reason: can’t communicate with ypbind
ypwhich: clntudp_create error RPC_PROG_NOT_REGISTERED
You can do the following:
1. Check if the ypbind process is running:
# ps -ef | grep ypbind
2. If the ypbind process is not running, enter the following command to start all the
NIS client processes:
# /sbin/init.d/nis.client start
NIS Returns Incorrect Information
If the message “NIS Returns Incorrect Information” is displayed, complete the following
steps:
1. Run the following command on the NIS client to determine the master server that
provides the appropriate NIS map:
62 Troubleshooting NIS