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Document:	ULTRIX-32 Guide to the Yellow Pages Service
Order Number:	AA-MEOOA-TE
Revision:	0
Pages:	72
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OCR Text

ULTRIX-32
Guide to the
Yellow Pages Service

Order No. AA-MEOOA-TE

ULTRIX-32 Operating System, Version 3.0

Digital Equipment Corporation

1988 Digital Equipment Corporation

The information in this document is subject to change without
notice and should not be
construed as a commitment by Digital Equipment Corporation
.

assumes

responsibility for any errors

that

may appear in this

Digital Equipment Corporation
document.

The software described in this document is furnished under a license
and may be used or
copied only in accordance with the terms of such license.
No responsibility is assumed for the use or reliability of software
on equipment that is not
supplied by DIGITAL or its affiliated companies.

The following are trademarks of Digital Equipment Corporation
:

DEC

Q-bus

DECnet

VAX

VAXstation

DECUS

ULTRIX

VMS

MASSBUS

ULTRIX-11

MicroVAX

ULTRIX-32

PDP

UNIBUS

ULTRIX Worksystem Software
dlilaliltlal]

UNIX is a registered trademark of AT&T in the USA and other
countries.
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines
Corporation.
MICOM is a registered trademark of Micom System, Inc.
This manual was written and produced by the ULTRIX
Documentation Group in Nashua, New
Hampshire.

Contents

About This Guide
AUAIETICE coviiniiiiiii et
e e e e e aaaas

vii

OrgamiZation

aaaeee e

vii

...oiiiiiiiiiiie et
e ee e e e e eetaneaaes

viii

.........oooeiiiiiiiiiiiii

Related DoCUMENTS

CONVENTIONS .oviiiiiiieeiiiiieee ettt

ettt e e e et r e e et e e e e s et e eeseaeaasseerns

viii

Introduction to the Yellow Pages Service

1.1 The YP ServiCe

.oooovioiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieieeicie

1.1.1 Naming Domains
1.1.2 Storing Data

.......ccccooiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie
e

..ccccooeiiiiiiiiece

1.1.3 Default YP FileS

1-3

oottt
ee

1.1.3.1 The /etc/hosts File

.cooocoiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie
e

1.1.3.2 The /etc/passwd File

....cocooovviiiiviiiiiiiiiiiiin,

1.1.3.3 Other YP Files

1-3

..oooiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie

1.2 YP Command Quick Reference

1-5

.........cccoooovvviiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeieeeeeeeeaenan,

1-6

2 Setting Up and Modifying Yellow Pages

2.1 Overview of Setting Ub a YP Server and Client ..........cccoeeveeievinnnn.

2-1

2.2 Prerequisite Information

2-2

..........coooviiiiiiiiiiinieiiieee e

2.3 Setting Up YP Automatically

.........ccoovviiviriiiiiiiiieieiieereieee
e eeeeeen,

2-3

2.3.1 Run the ypsetup Command

.........cccoovvvveeveemmemiieeeeeeeseeieinni,

2.3.2 Modify the Default Data Base FileS

2-3

...coccoovvevevveeeeoieiieiiiiiii,

2-4

2.4 Setting Up YP Manually ........coooeomomeieeieeeeeeeeeeeeee e

2.4.1 Setting Up a YP Master Server ......ccccccoevmooveeeoieeeeeeseiiinnn,

2-4

2.4.1.1 Establish the YP Domain ..coooooovveemooeeeeeeeeeee e
2.4.1.2 Build the Default YP Maps ..ccccooovoovreeeeoiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee,

2-5

2.4.1.3 Start the YP Server Daemons ...oooooveeveomoeeeeoo
2.4.1.4 Modify the Default YP FileS .....ccoovmmvovoiiieeeroeeooeiieeeeeeii
2.4.1.5 Start the YP Password Server ..o
2.4.1.6 Edit the /etc/rc.local File

.oooviirieiiie

2-5
2-5
2-6

2-6
2-7

2.4.1.7 Modify the /etc/sveorder File .....cccccoooovoviieiiiiiiieeeeoeeeeiiil
2.4.1.8 Create the YP Servers Map ...ccccoocceevmmivoireeeeeeeeeeeeeeeei,

2-8

2.4.2 Setting Up a YP Slave Server

...cooccccoooverivmoieoeeeeeeeeeeesiienn,

2-8

2.4.2.1 Establish the YP Domain ..coooooeevveeeoeeeeeeeee
o
2.4.2.2 Obtain Copies of the YP Maps ..ccoocoovovoereeeeeeeeiieeeeeereeveinnn,
2.4.2.3 Start the YP Server Daemons ....oooooeeeveeemooeeoo

2-8

2.4.2.4 Modify the Default YP Data Base FileS ......coooovvvovvevvvvvennn,
2.4.2.5 Edit the /etc/rc.local File oouooeiiiioieeeeeee
e

2-7

2-8

2-9
2-9
2-9

2.4.2.6 Modify the /ete/sveorder File .....c.ccooovovooiiiiiiieoeeeeeeei]
2.4.2.7 Edit the /usr/lib/crontab File ....ooooooerioeieoee e
2.4.2.8 Add the New Slave Server to the Domain ....coooovvvveeeenvnin,

2-10

2.4.3 Setting Up @ YP CHent weevvuvueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

2-10

2.4.3.1 Establish the YP Domain

2-11

.cooooeevveveeoeeeeieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeoe
2.4.3.2 Start the YP Port Mapper Daemon ........cooeveeveueveeviveeesnnns
2.4.3.3 Modify the Default YP Data Base FileS ..c.cccooovvvevvenvieveiin,
2.4.3.4 Edit the /etc/rc.local File oooeeoeeiiioooeoeeee
e

2.4.3.5 Modify the /etc/sveorder File ......cccooovoovoiiiiseioeeeeeeieiiii

2.5 Altering YP Client Local FileS

.....ococoooviivoieeieoeeeeoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeenoe,

2.5.1 The networks, protocols, rpc, services, and netgroup
FIlES oo
2.5.2 The /etc/hosts.eqUiv FIle ..oooooooooeeeee
2.5.3 The Thosts FII& ..oooiviieeeeeee
e
e
ieeeeeee
2.5.4 The /etc/NOStS FIlE oovenooeeieeeeeeee

2-10
2-10

2-11
2-11
2-11
2-11

2-12

2-12
2-12
2-13
2-13

2.5.6 The /ete/group File ...ooooiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiic

2-14

..cccccovoviiiiiiiiiiiiinericiiinneiirieenenineenenes

2-14

..cccoiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiee
et eeiee et e e v e e e e

2-16

2.6 Modifying and Creating YP Maps
2.7 Propagating YP Maps

2.7.1 Using make to Propagate YP Maps

.....cccooviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiinninnnn..

2.7.2 Using makedbm to Propagate YP Maps

2-17

.....ccccooviiiiiinniininnes

2-17

...cccccciiieviiiiiiniiiiiiinneeninnnn,

2-17

2.8 Modifying the YP Environment ........c.cccoooiviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiineeeiiineeeeninens

2-19

2.8.1 Adding YP Servers to the Domain .................. rerereraneereaaaae

2-19

2.8.2 Removing YP Slave Servers from the Domain

2-20

2.7.3 Using ypxfr to Propagate YP Maps

2.8.3 Changing a YP Map’s Master Server

2.8.4 Adding Users to a YP Client

......cccccveeviveviieeerennnnnn,

2-20

.....ccooooiieiiiiiiiiiiiiieieeeiee

2-21

2.8.4.1 Edit the YP Master Server’s /etc/passwd File

....................

2-22

.....ccooviiiiiriiiiiiiiiiiiiieiiiieeiiieeciieecennee,

2-22

2.8.4.2 Update the YP Map .cooooeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiee
2.8.4.3 Make a Home Directory

.....................

2.8.4.4 Set Up the New User’s Environment
2.8.4.5 Propagate the Updated YP Map

.......cccceeevvviiiiiiinerinnnnn,

2-23

....cooooevviiieririiineiiiiiieeeeninnnn,

2-23

3 Maintaining and Managing the Yellow Pages Service
3.1 System Security with YP .o
3.1.1 Global and Local YP Files

...cccooiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinreenieiiiiin,

3.1.2 Local System Files with Pointers to YP Maps
3.2 YP Map Access PoliCIES

3-1

.....ccccceeevnnnnen.

3-2

..coiiivieriiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
e
eeve e

3-3

3.3 Special YP Password Change

........cccooooiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeiiiiee
e,

3.4 Netgroups: Network-Wide Groups of Systems and Users

4 Troubleshooting the Yellow

3-4

................

3-4

..covirriiiiiieieiieeieieeeeeiesen

4-1

Pages Service

4.1 How to Solve Problems on a YP Client

4.1.1 Commands Hang

3-1

.....ccccceoiriiiiiiiiiiiiiciiiii

4-2

4.1.2 YP Service Unavailable ...oooooveeeiiiei
o
4.1.3 The ypbind Process EXItS ..c.cccooociivmoiimmoeeeeeiee oo
4.1.4 The ypwhich Command Is Inconsistent ..........cocccovivvviiiviin.

4.2 How to Solve Problems on a YP Server
4.2.1 YP Does Not Update Data Base
4.2.2 The ypserv Process ExXILS

.....cocooooeeeovieooesooeoiiiin,

4-3
4-4
4-5

4-5

.....cccoocevmvvoereoviireoeeoeein,

4-7

.....ccoocccoivoieirooieeeeeiieeeeeeeeeesoe,

4-7

About This Guide

The objective of this guide is to provide introductory, setup, and
troubleshooting information for the Yellow Pages Service (YP).

This guide

will assist you in developing YP management procedures and presents
guidelines from which you can develop specific procedures for your site.

Audience
This guide is meant for the person responsible for maintaining networks on
an ULTRIX operating system.

This person is usually the system manager,

but could be a network manager or the system manager who is also a user
of a MicroVAX processor.

This guide assumes that the reader is familiar

with the ULTRIX system commands, the system configuration, the naming
conventions, and an editor such as vi or ed.

It assumes that the reader

knows the names and addresses of the other systems on the network.

Organization
This guide consists of four chapters and an index.

The chapters are:

Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter introduces YP and provides the background information
needed before you can set up and run YP on your system.

Also,

basic YP concepts are described.

Chapter 2: Setting Up the Yellow Pages Service
This chapter describes how to set up YP on your system
automatically using the ypsetup command.
set up YP manually.

It also describes how to

The manual description is included for those

who want to understand how YP operates and which files are affected

by YP.
Chapter 3: Maintaining and Managing the Yellow Pages Service
This chapter describes how to maintain and manage the YP service.

System security and YP map access policies are discussed.
Chapter 4: Troubleshooting the Yellow Pages Service
This chapter describes the basic approach to solving YP-related
problems.

It discusses various system problems you may encounter

and explains how to solve them.
In addition, this chapter lists the
YP error messages and suggested solutions.

Related Documents
You should have available the related hardware documentation for your
system.
You should also have the ULTRIX documentation set, including

the ULTRIX Reference Pages.

Conventions
The following conventions are used in this guide:
special

In text, each mention of a specific command, option,
partition, pathname, directory, or file is presented in this
type.

command(x)

In text, cross-references to the command documentation
include the section number in the reference manual where
the commands are documented.
For example: See the

cat(1) command.
This indicates that you can find the
material on the cat command in Section 1 of the reference

pages.

literal

italics

In syntax descriptions, this type indicates terms that are
constant and must be typed just as they are presented.
In syntax descriptions, this type indicates terms that are

variable.
[ ]

In syntax descriptions, square brackets indicate terms that
are optional.
In syntax descriptions, a horizontal ellipsis indicates that
the preceding item can be repeated one or more times.

function

In function definitions, the function itself is shown in this
type. The function arguments are shown in italics.

UPPERCASE

The ULTRIX system differentiates between lowercase and
uppercase characters.

Enter uppercase characters only

where specifically indicated by an example or a syntax line.
example

In examples, computer output text is printed in this type.

example

In examples, user input is printed in this bold type.

This is the default user prompt in multiuser mode.

system#

This is the superuser prompt on the system indicated by

the system name specified.
This is the default superuser prompt.
>>>

This is the console subsystem prompt.
In examples, a vertical ellipsis indicates that not all of the

lines of the example are shown.

KEYNAME

In examples, a word or abbreviation in angle brackets
indicates that you must press the named key on the
terminal keyboard.

CTRL/x

In examples, symbols like this indicate that you must hold
down the CTRL key while you type the key that follows
the slash.

Use of this combination of keys may appear on

your terminal screen as the letter preceded by the

circumflex character.

at all.

In some instances, it may not appear

Introduction to the Yellow Pages Service 1

This chapter introduces the network data base service called Yellow Pages

(YP).
YP is a distributed data base lookup service that provides these services:

It maintains a set of data bases.
Programs can ask for the value
associated with a particular key or any group of keys in a data base.

It propagates updated data bases among the systems on the network
(YP domain), ensuring consistency.
The YP data bases are fully
duplicated on several systems known as YP servers.
Multiple servers
give the YP service a high degree of availability and reliability
because the query response is the same everywhere.

A YP domain is a directory in /var/yp containing a named set of YP maps.
You can determine your YP domain by executing the domainname
command.
Note that YP domains are different from both Internet domains
and sendmail domains.
A domain name is required for retrieving data from a YP data base.

Each
system on the network belongs to a default domain set in /etc/rc.local at
boot time with the domainname command.
If your YP domain is market
and you want to find the Internet address of host sugar, you must ask YP
for the value associated with the key sugar in the map hosts.byname
within the YP domain market.
For example:
%

ypcat

hosts

grep

sugar

A YP server holds all the maps of a YP domain in a subdirectory of
/varlyp, named after the domain.
For example, maps for the market
domain would be held in /var/yp/market.
YP uses this information
internally.

A YP map is a set of data base files residing in the directory

/varlyp/domainname.
The YP maps contain the information that YP serves,
and each map contains a set of keys and associated values.
For example,
the hosts map contains all host names on a network as keys and the
corresponding Internet addresses as values.
Each YP map has a map
name, used by programs to access data in the map.

Programs must know the format of the data in the map.
Most maps are
derived from ASCII files such as letc/passwd, /etc/group, /etc/hosts
, and
/etc/networks.
Maps are implemented by dbm files located in the
Ivarlyp/domainname directory on the YP servers.
See dbm( 3x) in the
ULTRIX Reference Pages for information about the dbm file
format.

Servers provide resources and clients use them.

one-to-one correspondence between servers, clients,

There is not necessarily a
and systems.

system that acts as a server can also act as a client.

In fact,

To illustrate,

consider two different services:
the Network File System (NFS) and YP.
NFS allows client systems to mount remote file systems
and directories
and to access files in place, provided a server system has exported
the file

system or directory.

A server that exports file systems and directories

may also mount remote file systems and directories exported
by other
systems, thus becoming a client.
A given system can be both server and

client, a client only, or a server only.

The YP server is a process rather than a system.
A process can request
information out of the YP data base, obviating the need to have
such
information on every system.
All processes that make use of the YP
service are YP clients.

Sometimes YP clients are served by YP servers on the same system,
and
other times by YP servers running on a different system.
If a remote
system running a YP server process exits, client processe
s can obtain the

YP service from another system.
almost always available.

This feature makes the YP service

In the YP environment, only a few systems have a set
of YP data bases.
YP makes the data base set available over the network.
A YP client

system runs YP processes

systems.

and requests data from data bases on other
Two kinds of systems have data bases:
a YP slave server and

a YP master server.

For any map, one YP server is designated the

master, and all changes to the YP map should be made
on that system.

The changes then propagate from master to slaves.
Note

The /etclyp directory is symbolically linked to Ivarlyp.
YP clients do not need to know the location of data, or how
it is stored.
Instead, they use a network protocol to communicate with
a data base

server that knows those details.

The following topics are discussed in this chapter:
e

The YP service

YP command quick reference

1.1

The YP Service

The YP service provides a way or method for the network manager to
maintain consistency among selected system administrative files on all the
systems in a YP domain.
There are two parts of YP to consider:
operates, and what system files from /etc are affected by YP.

how it

The YP service maintains network-wide data bases, such as /etc/hosts.
The
servers throughout the network contain copies of the YP maps.
When any
system on the network wants to look up something in /etc/hosts, it makes
a remote procedure call (RPC) to one of the servers to get the
information.

One server is the master

the only server whose data base
The other servers are slaves, and they are periodically
updated so that their information is synchronized with that of the master
may be modified.

server.

YP can serve any number of files including some of those that reside in
the /etc directory, such as /etc/passwd and /etc/networks.
In addition to
these, users can add their own files to YP.
The following sections describe various aspects of how YP accomplishes its
services.

1.1.1

Naming Domains

A domain is a collection of systems that shares a set of YP maps and
shares the same YP master server.
The domainname command tells a
user the name of the system’s domain.
The getdomainname system call
returns the name of the domain to the program that called it.
Data is stored in the directory /var/lyp/domainname.
data for several different domains.

1.1.2

A system can contain

Storing Data

YP maps store data in dbm files.

For example, the YP map for /etc/hosts

in the domain market is stored in these files:

/varlyp/market/hosts.byaddr.dir
/var/yp/market/hosts.byaddr.pag

Ivar/lyp/market/hosts.byname.dir
/varlyp/market/hosts.byname.pag
The makedbm command takes an ASCII file such as /etc/hosts and
converts it into dbm files suitable for use by YP.
However, system
administrators should use the Makefile in /var/lyp to create YP map files.

This Makefile in turn calls makedbm.
See ypmake(8yp) in the ULTRIX
Reference Pages for further information on rebuilding YP data bases.

1.1.3

Default YP Files

These are the default data base files that YP serves:
/etc/hosts
/etc/passwd
letc/group

/etc/networks
letc/rpc
/etc/services
letc/protocols
/etc/netgroup
Library routines such as getpwent, getgrent, and gethostent use YP.

programs that call these library routines will need to be relinked to
function correctly.

Note

If YP is running, the library routines such as getpwent, getgrent,
and gethostent, cause entries served by YP to to be returned in
the order the data appears in the YP map.

This returned order

is not necessarily the same as the original ASCII files.

yp_next function described in ypcint(3yp)

See the

in the ULTRIX

Reference Pages for further information.
The following sections discuss each of the default files.

1.1.3.1

The /etc/hosts File

files in YP.

The hosts file is stored as two different

The first, hosts.byname, is indexed by host name.

The

second, hosts.byaddr, is indexed by Internet address.

The hosts YP map

expands into the four YP map files, with the suffixes

.pag and .dir.

When a user program calls the library routine gethostbyname, a single RPC

call to a server retrieves the entry from the hosts.byname file.
gethostbyaddr retrieves the entry from the hosts.byaddr file.

Similarly,

If YP is not

running (which you can cause by commenting out the ypbind entry in the
letc/rc.local file), then gethostbyname reads the /etc/hosts file.

Maps sometimes have more than one name.

Although the ypcat command

1s a general YP map print program, it knows about the standard files in
YP.

Thus, the command

ypcat

hosts

is translated into

hosts.byaddr, because there is no file called hosts in YP.

following command for a list of expanded names:

ypcat
Type the

1.1.3.2
file.

ypcat

-x

The /etc/passwd File

The passwd file is similar to the hosts

It exists as two separate files, passwd.byname and passwd.byuid.

The ypcat program prints it, and ypmake updates it.

Unlike the

gethostbyaddr and the gethostbyname library functions, however, the
getpwent function reads the local /etc/passwd file and interprets the YP
special characters plus, minus, and at (+, -,

@).

A plus (+)

used to include the entries from the YP passwd map.

entry is

A minus (-)

entry,

on the other hand, is used to prevent this user from logging in to the
system regardless of the YP passwd map.

The at (@)

character can be

used in conjunction with plus and minus entries to either include or
exclude members of the network group specified.

See netgroups(5yp)

the ULTRIX Reference Pages for further information.
If you wrote a program using getpwent to print all the entries from your

password file, it would print a virtual password file.
+

Rather than printing

and -, it would print whatever entries the local password file included

from the YP map.
If you are running YP and need to change a password, you must change
the password in the YP map using the yppasswd command unless you

need to modify an entry in the local /etc/passwd file.

The yppasswd

command has the same user interface as the passwd command, but works
only if the yppasswdd daemon is running on the YP master server.
Note

The passwd command does not change the password YP map.
It only changes the local password file (/etc/passwd)

and not the

YP master password file on the YP master server that is usually

stored as /var/yp/src/passwd.

See Chapter 3 for further

information.

1.1.3.3

Other YP Files -

Of the other files in the /etc directory,

letc/group is treated like /etc/passwd, in that getgrent only consults the YP
group map if explicitly told to do so by plus or minus ( +,-)

the /etc/group file.

entries in

The files /etc/networks, /etc/rpc, /etc/services,

/etc/protocols, and /etc/netgroup are treated like /etc/hosts:

for these files,

the library routines go directly to YP, without consulting the local files.
Any plus or minus ( +,-)

entries have no affect in the /etc/networks,

/etc/hosts, /etc/rpe, /etc/protocols, /etc/services, and /etc/netgroup files.

1.2

YP Command Quick Reference

Most of the information describing the structure of YP and the commands
available for it is contained in the ULTRIX Reference Pages.
For a quick

reference, the related commands and abstracts of their functions are listed

here.

makedbm ( 8yp)

Describes a low-level tool for building a dbm file, which is a valid YP
Data bases not built from /var/yp/Makefile can be built using
makedbm.
The makedbm command also disassembles a map so that

map.

you can see the key-value pairs.
You can modify the disassembled
form with standard tools (such as editors, awk, grep, and cat).
The
disassembled map is in the form required for input back into

makedbm.

ypcat(1lyp)

Displays the contents of a YP map.

You can use ypcat when it does

not matter which server’s version you are seeing.

If you need to see
a particular server’s map, log in to that server (using rlogin, or the
rsh command) and use the makedbm command.

ypmake (8yp)

Describes how to use /var/yp/Makefile, which builds several commonly
changed components of the YP maps.
These components are the
maps built from several ASCII files normally found in the /etc

directory:

group, hosts, netgroup, networks, passwd, protocols, rpc,

and services.
ypmatch(1yp)

Prints the value for one or more specified keys in a YP map.
You
have no control over which server’s version of the map you are
seeing.

yppoli(8yp)

Asks any ypserv process for the information it holds internally about a
single map.

yppush (8yp)

Describes a tool to administer a running YP system.
It is run on
the master YP server.
It requests each of the ypserv processes
within a domain to transfer a particular map, waits for a summary
response from the transfer agent, and prints the results for each
server.

ypserv(8yp)

Describes the processes that make up YP.
These processes are
ypserv, the YP map server daemon, and ypbind, the YP binder
daemon.
The ypserv process must run on each YP server.
The

ypbind daemon must run on all systems that act as YP clients.

ypsetup (8yp)

Sets up your system YP environment for the first time.

The ypsetup

command initializes the default maps for a master YP server,
transfers copies of the master YP server maps for a slave YP server,

and sets up the /etc/rc.local file for the master, slaves, and clients on
the domain.
ypwhich (1yp)

Tells you which YP server a system is using at the moment or which
YP server is the master of some named map.

ypxfr(8yp)

Moves a YP map from one YP server to another, using YP itself as

the transport medium.
/etc/crontab.

It can be run interactively or periodically from

In addition, ypserv uses ypxfr as its transfer agent when

it is asked to transfer a map.

Setting Up and Modifying Yellow Pages 2

This chapter explains how to set up the Yellow Pages (YP)

your system using the ypsetup command.

service on

It also describes how to set up

YP manually and how to modify an existing YP environment.

See Chapter

1 for a description of YP.
The topics discussed in this chapter are:
®

Overview of setting up a YP server and client

Prerequisite information for setting up a YP server or client

Setting up YP automatically

Setting up YP manually

Altering YP client files

Creating and modifying YP maps

Propagating YP maps

2.1

Overview of Setting Up a YP Server and Client

To set up a system as a server, the system must contain the YP maps
and must also run the YP daemons /etc/portmap and /usr/etc/ypserv.

addition, the YP master server needs to run the /usr/etc/rpc.yppasswdd
daemon.

The ypsetup command places an entry in the /etc/rc.local file to

start these daemons automatically at boot time.
Any system, including a YP server, can act as a YP client by running the

letc/ypbind daemon.

A YP client gets its information from a YP server if

the information is not in the client’s local files.

If a YP client cannot find

the information in its local files, it makes an RPC call to a YP server and
gets the information from a YP map.
The ypbind daemon remembers the name of the YP server.

When a client

boots, ypbind broadcasts a request to the Ethernet wire asking for the
name of the YP server.

Similarly, ypbind broadcasts a request for the

name of a new YP server if the old server has gone off the network for
any reason.

The ypwhich command gives the name of the server that the

ypbind daemon currently points to.

Users on a YP client can use the ypcat and ypmatch commands to print
The following command prints the information in
the YP hosts map:
data from a YP map.

ypcat

hosts

Similarly, the following command prints the information in the YP passwd
map:

ypcat

passwd

To look for someone’s password entry, you need to use either the ypcat or
For example, to obtain the password entry for a
user named jane, use one of the following command lines:

the ypmatch command.
#

ypcat

ypmatch

2.2

passwd

jane

Prerequisite

grep

jane

passwd

Information

Before you can set up YP on your system, your system must be in
multiuser mode with the /usr file system mounted, and your system must

be established on a local area network.
answers to the following questions:

In addition, you must know the

What is the default YP domain name for your system?

Will your system be the YP master server on the domain?

If your system will be the master server:
-

You must be sure there is no other master already existing on

the domain.
-

You must know the names of the YP slave servers on your
To keep the YP maps consistent across all YP servers,

domain.

the YP master server maintains a list of slave servers to send
the updated copies of the maps using the yppush command.
The ypsetup command will add the names you enter to the
master server’s list.

Will your system be a YP slave server?

If your system will be a YP slave server, be sure there is a YP

master server already on the domain.

Otherwise, you will not be

able to initialize the YP maps for your system.
o

Will your system be a YP client server?

You must be sure there is at least one other system on the network
configured as either a YP master or slave server.
Otherwise. vou

will not be able to access the YP maps.

Once you have the required information, you are ready to set up the YP

service.

2.3

Setting Up YP Automatically

To set up YP automatically, run the ypsetup command.

T‘hen, modify the

YP data base files as outlined in Sections 2.3.1 and 2.3.2.

2.3.1

Run the ypsetup Commahd

With the system in multiuser mode, run the ypsetup command:
#

/etc/ypsetup

Once ypsetup is running, it prints an informational message.
Answer each of the ypsetup prompts.
The ypsetup command asks if you
want the YP daemons started automatically.
If you say yes, then the YP
service will run when ypsetup terminates.
If you say no, then you will

need to start the YP daemons by hand after ypsetup terminates, in order
Either way the YP daemons will start automatically upon

for YP to run.

subsequent system reboots.

When ypsetup has made the required modifications, it prints this
informational message:
ok

YELLOW

PAGES

SETUP

COMPLETE

***#x

The ypsetup command checks to see if the file /etc/svcorder exists.

The

svcorder file designates the order in which database lookup services such as

YP and BIND are to be searched to resolve host names and addresses.
This file is required for the YP service to run.

If the svcorder file does not exist, then ypsetup creates it with an entry
If the svcorder file already exists but does not contain
an entry for YP, ypsetup gives you this reminder:

for the YP service.
Be

sure

order

update

which

name/address

the

svcorder

access

resolution.

the

file

Yellow

reflect

Pages

the

service

proper
for

host

If you are running more than one service, you should consider the order in
which the services are to be queried.
You can edit the /etc/svcorder file to
reflect this order after ypsetup completes.

See svcorder(5)

about this file.

in the ULTRIX Reference Pages for further information

2.3.2

Modify the

Defauit Data

Base

Files

If your system will be a YP client, edit the original versions of the default
data base files to include the YP escape characters.

Section 2.5.

These files are:

This is described in

/etc/group, /etc/hosts, /etc/netgroup,

/etc/networks, /etc/passwd, /etc/protocols, and /etc/services.

2.4

Setting Up YP Manually

For an interactive setup with default answers, follow the automatic YP
setup procedure (see Section 2.3).

This section describes how to set up your system manually as a YP
master server, slave server, or client and helps you to understand how YP

works.
Both the client and the server must be connected to an Internet network
for YP to be able to run.
The following topics are discussed in this section:

Setting up a YP master server

Setting up a YP slave server

Setting up a YP client

2.4.1

Setting Up a YP Master Server

The following files must contain the data that will be served to the YP
clients on the domain:

letc/group

/etc/hosts

/etc/networks

/etc/passwd

/etc/protocols

fetc/rpe

/etc/services

/etc/netgroup

If any of these files are not up to date, edit them and add the correct
entries.

For example, the passwd file must contain an entry for each user

on the domain that the YP master server will serve.

In addition, be sure the /etc/netgroup file is complete.

If you do not have

an /etc/netgroup file, create an empty one by typing the following

command:

/dev/null

/etc/netgroup

See netgroup(5yp) in the ULTRIX Reference Pages for further information
about the netgroup file.
By default, the YP maps for the YP master server are constructed from
the files residing in the /etc directory.
If you want to modify the /etc
files to contain only the local entries for the master server, create a

directory such as /var/yp/src.

it.

Then copy the master copies of the files to

You should make all future modifications there.

If you plan to run make, ensure that the netgroup file is in /etc.
not in /etc, the make command will not find the netgroup file.
For further information, see make(1)

If it is

in the ULTRIX Reference Pages.

To set up your system manually as a YP master server, follow these steps:

Establish the YP domain
Build the default YP maps

Start the YP server daemons

Edit the /etc/rc.local file

Start the YP password server

N e

Modify the default YP files

Modify the /etc/svcorder file
Create the YP servers map

2.4.1.1

Establish the

domain directory.
market:

YP Domain - Set the domain name and create the
In the following example, the domain name is set to

ypmaster#

/bin/domainname

ypmaster#

mkdir

2.4.1.2

Build the

Default YP Maps -

ypmaster#

make

2.4.1.3

market

/var/yp/market

Build the default YP maps:

/var/yp
NOPUSH="Y"

Start the YP Server Daemons -

running, start it:

If the RPC port mapper is not

ypmaster#

/etc/portmap

After you have started the RPC port mapper, or if the port mapper is
already running, start the ypserv daemon:
ypmaster#

2.4.1.4

/usr/etc/ypserv

Modify the

Default YP Files -

If your system will be acting as a

YP client in addition to being a YP master server, create a directory such
as /varlyp/src.

Then, copy the default files to that directory (/etc/group,

letc/hosts, /etc/netgroup, /etc/networks, /etc/passwd, /etc/protocols, /etc/rpc,

and /etc/services).

Edit the original default files in /etc as described in

Section 2.5.
If you change the directory for all the default files, edit the Makefile and

modify the DIR argument so that it specifies the new directory.

For

example, if the original directory was /etc and the new directory is
Ivarlyp/src, here is the new argument to Makefile:
DIR=/var/yp/src

If you change the directory for some of the default files, but not all of

them, edit only the Makefile DIR arguments for those particular files.
If you change the directory for the password file, in addition to editing the
Makefile, be sure to edit the /etc/rc.local file to reflect the new directory.
For example, if the new directory for /etc/passwd is /var/yp/src, be sure the
following entry is in the /etc/rc.local file:
/usr/etc/rpc.yppasswdd
-m

passwd

/var/yp/src/passwd

DIR=/var/yp/src

Note
If you want to modify the YP master files at any time

thereafter, you should modify the files in the holding area, such
as /var/lyp/src.

Then, run the makedbm command.

The files in

/etc are the YP master server’s local files and do not contain
entries for the YP clients on the domain.

Start the ypbind daemon:
ypmaster#

2.4.1.5

/etc/ypbind

Start the YP Password Server ~

To allow YP clients to change

their YP password entries, start the YP password server daemon.
example, if the master version of the passwd file is stored as
Ivarfyp/src/passwd, type:

For

ypmaster#

/usr/etc/rpc.yppasswdd

~-m

DIR=/var/yp/src

passwd

/var/yp/src/passwd

2.4.1.6
Edit the /etc/rc.local File - Add an entry to the /etc/rc.local file
to set up the default YP domain name, using this format:
/bin/domainname domainname

You also need to add entries for the /etc/portmap, /usr/etc/ypserv,
lusr/etc/rpc.yppasswdd, and /etc/ypbind daemons.
For example, the entry
for ypserv should look like this:
if

[

-f

/etc/portmap

-a

/usr/etc/ypserv;

-f

echo

/usr/etc/ypserv

-n

>/dev/console

ypserv’

then

On subsequent reboots, the YP service automatically starts from the

letcirc.local file.

Note

The order in which the entries appear in the /etc/rc.local file
determine the order in which the services are started when the
system is brought to multiuser mode.
Be sure that all YP
entries precede any NFS

daemons or other service daemons, such
as Ipd for the printer service in this file.
Also, be sure that the
entry for the domain name precedes the entries for the YP

daemons.

2.4.1.7

Modify the /etc/svcorder File

- You need to modify the
If it does not exist, then you should create it.
This file
designates the order and selection of database lookup services.
It consists
of the service names, one service per line, in the order they are to be
queried.
For example, if you are only running YP, the /etc/svcorder file

letc/svcorder file.

should consist of this one line:

yp
If you are running both the YP service and the BIND service and you
want the BIND service queried in the event that YP fails to find the
information, here are the proper entries:

yp
bind
Note that the order in which the service names appear in the file is
significant.
See svcorder(5) in the ULTRIX Reference Pages for further

PO . SR

2.4.1.8

Create the YP Servers Map -

create the YP servers map.

Use the makedbm command to

For example, if the domain name is market

and the YP slave servers for the domain are osprey and nuthatch, type:
ypmaster#

ypmaster#

makedbm

/var/yp
-

market/ypservers

opsprey

nuthatch

2.4.2

Setting Up a YP Slave Server

The local area network must be established before you can set up your
system as a YP slave server.

In particular, you must be able to copy files

from the YP master server to the slave server, using the rcp command.

There must also be a YP master server on the network running the ypserv
daemon for the domain.

To set up your system manually as a YP slave server, follow these steps:

Establish the YP domain

‘

Obtain copies of the YP maps
Start the YP server daemons
Modify the default YP data base files
Edit the /etc/rc.local file

Edit the /usr/lib/crontab file

Modify the /etc/svcorder file

Add the new slave server to the domain

2.4.2.1

Establish the YP Domain -

domain directory.
ypslave#

/bin/domainname

ypslave#

mkdir

2.4.2.2

Set the domain name and create the

For example, if your domain name is market, type:
market

/var/yp/market

Obtain Copies of the YP Maps -

Run the YP transfer command

ypxfr for each YP map your system will serve.

For example, to run ypxfr

on a system with a YP master called orville on a domain called market for

the /etc/passwd map, type:

ypslave#

ypxfr

-h

orville

-c¢c

—-d

market

passwd.byname

ypslave#

ypxfr

-h

orville

-¢

—-d

market

passwd.byuid

To find a list of the YP maps that your system can serve, look on the
YP master in the /var/lyp/domainname directory.

For example:

/varlyp/market.

2.4.2.3

Start the YP Server Daemons -

If the RPC port mapper is not

running, start it:
ypslave#

/etc/portmap

After the RPC port mapper is running, start the ypserv daemon:
ypslave#

2.4.2.4

/usr/etc/ypserv

Modify the Default YP Data Base Files ~ If your system will

act as a client, in addition to being a YP slave server, edit the default
data base files as described in Section 2.5.

Then, start the ypbind

daemon:
ypslave#

2.4.2.5

/etc/ypbind

Edit the /etc/rc.local File

Add an entry to the /etc/rc.local file

to set up the default YP domain name.

For example, if the domain name

is market, the entry should look like this:
/bin/domainname

market

You also need to add entries for the /etc/portmap, /usrietc/ypserv, and
For example, the entry for the /etc/portmap daemon

/etc/ypbind daemons.
is:
if

[

-f

/etc/portmap

/etc/portmap;

];

echo

then
-n

portmap’

>/dev/console

The entry for the ypbind daemon should look like this:
if

[

-f

/etc/portmap

/etc/ypbind;

-a

echo

—-f

-n

/etc/ypbind

];

ypbind’

>/dev/console

then

On subsequent reboots, the YP service automatically starts from the

letc/rc.local file.
Note

Be sure that the entry for the domain name precedes the entries
for the YP daemons in the /etc/rc.local file.

If your system is also running NFS, be sure the YP entries
precede the NFS entries in the /etc/rc.local file.

2.4.2.6

Modify the /etc/svcorder File -

letc/svecorder file.

You need to modify the

See Section 2.4.1.7 for information about the

/etc/svcorder file.

2.4.2.7

Edit the /usr/lib/crontab File

To allow your YP slave server to

receive updated copies of the YP master server’s YP maps, place ypxfr

command entries in the /usr/lib/crontab file.

For examples of crontab

entries, look at these files:

fetc/yplypxfr_1perday
letclyplypxfr_2perday

letc/yplypxfr__1perhour

See cron(8)

and ypxfr(8yp)

in the ULTRIX Reference Pages for further

information.

2.4.2.8

Add the

New Slave

Server to the

Domain -

To add the new

slave server to the domain, follow the directions in Section 2.8.1.

2.4.3

Setting Up a YP Client

The local area network must be established before you can set up your
system as a YP client.
In addition, there must be a YP server on the
network running the ypserv daemon for the domain.
To set up your system manually as a YP client, follow these steps:
1.

Establish the YP domain

Start the YP port mapper daemon
Modify the default YP data base files
Edit the /etc/rc.local file

Modify the /etc/svcorder file

2.4.3.1
Establish the YP Domain - Set the domain name with the
domainname command, using this format:

/bin/[domainname domainname
For example, to set the domain name for the domain market,
type:
ypclient#

2.4.3.2

/bin/domainname

market

Start the YP Port Mapper Daemon -

not running, start it:
ypclient#

/etc/portmap

2.4.3.3
Modify the Default YP Data
base files as described in Section 2.5.
ypclient#

2.4.3.4

If the RPC port mapper is

Base

Files - Edit the default data
Then, start the ypbind daemon:

/etc/ypbind

Edit the /etc/rc.local File

Add an entry to the /etc/rc.local file

to set up the default YP domain name, using this format:

/bin/domainname domainname
You also need to add entries for the /etc/portmap and /etc/ypbin
d daemons.
For example, the entry for ypbind should look like this:
if

[

-f

/etc/portmap

/etc/ypbind;

-a

echo

-f

-n

/etc/ypbind

ypbind”’

>/dev/console

then

On subsequent reboots, the YP service automatically starts from the
letc/rc.local file.
Note
Be sure that the entry for the domain name precedes the entries
for the YP daemons in the /etc/rc.local file.
If your system is also running NFS, be sure the YP entries
precede the NFS entries in the /etc/rc.local file.

2.4.3.5

Modify the /etc/svcorder File - You need to modify the
See Section 2.4.1.7 for information about the
letc/svcorder file.
letc/svcorder file.

2.5

Altering YP Client Local Files

All YP clients on the network should be updated to use the YP master’s
versions of the YP maps, rather than their potentially out-of-date local
files.
This policy is enforced by running a ypbind process on the client
system, including systems that might be running YP servers, and by
modifying or eliminating the following files:
/etc/group, /etc/hosts,

letc/hosts.equiv, /etc/netgroup, /etc/networks, /etc/passwd, /etc/protocols,
letc/rpc, /etc/services, and /.rhosts.

The following six sections discuss how

to treat each of these files.

2.5.1

The networks, protocols, rpc, services, and netgroup Files

The /etc/networks, /etc/protocols, /etc/rpc, /etc/services, and /etc/netgroup
files are not needed on any YP client.
If you would prefer to keep them,

you can leave them where they are or you can move them to backup files.
The following example shows how to move the /etc/networks file to
/etc/networks.old:
#

2.5.2

/etc/networks

/etc/networks.old

The /etc/hosts.equiv File

The YP service does not serve the /etc/hosts.equiv file.

However, you can

add escape sequences to activate YP.
This reduces problems with rlogin
and rsh that are sometimes caused by different /etc/hosts.equiv files on two
systems.

To let anyone log in to a system, you could edit /etc/hosts.equiv so that it
contains a single line with only the plus character (+) on it, which
matches any host name.

However, you can exercise more control over logins by using lines of the
form:

+ @trusted_groupl
+ @ trusted_group2

- @ untrusted_group
Each of the names to the right of the at character (@)

is assumed to be

a network group name, defined in the global network group YP map that
YP serves.

For example, if two trusted groups are staff and users, and an

untrusted group is guest, these are the appropriate /etc/hosts.equiv entries:

+@staff
+@users

-@guest

If no escape sequence is used, only the entries in /etc/hosts.equiv are used,
and YP is not used.

2.5.3

The

.rhosts File

The YP service does not serve .rhosts files.
is identical to that of /etc/hosts.equiv.

The format of the .rhosts file

However, since the /.rhosts file

controls remote root access to the local system, you should restrict access
to it.

You should make the list of trusted hosts explicit or use the

network group names.

2.5.4

The /etc/hosts File

The /etc/hosts file must contain entries for the local host’s name and the
local loopback name.

multiuser mode.

Otherwise, the system could hang while coming up to

The entries in the /etc/hosts file are accessed at boot

time when the YP service is not yet available.

After the system is

running, and after the ypbind process is up, the /etc/hosts file is not
accessed.

An example of the hosts file for YP client orville is:

127.0.0.1

localhost

192.9.1.87

orville

2.5.5

John

Random

The /etc/passwd File

The /etc/passwd file should contain entries for root and the primary users
of the system and an escape entry to force the use of YP.
A sample YP client’s /etc/passwd file looks like:
root :6H2/WWVZniFgM:0:1:Bossman

with

shell:/:/bin/csh

operator::0:28:0perator:/opr:./opr/opser
daemon:*:1:1:Mr.

Background:/:

sys :xzuEOVILjYpJM:2:3:Mr.

bin:xcvjWdalfaUn:3:4:Mr.
uucp:Nologin:8:8:USENET

Kernel :/usr/sys:

Binary:/bin:
New

System:/usr/spool/netnews:

The last line is the escape entry that informs the library routines to use
the YP service rather than give up the search.

Entries that exist in the

local files, such as /etc/passwd, mask analogous entries in the YP maps.

In addition, earlier entries in the file mask later entries with the same

user name or the same user identification (UID).

Note

It is important that the

+:
entry always be last.
Any entries
in the /etc/passwd file placed after the +:
entry are ignored
because the library routines go directly to the YP map.
If you run the netsetup or uucpsetup commands after YP is
running, check the /etc/passwd file to be sure the

last.

entry is

If you want to run uucp throughout your YP domain, you must
run uucpsetup on the YP master server and then remake the

password maps:
1.
2.

Run uucpsetup on the YP master server.
Edit the /etc/passwd file.

map, place the

If /etc/passwd is the YP password

entry at the end of the file.
Otherwise,
move the entries that uucpsetup appended after the +:
entry

to the YP password map (usually /var/yp/src/passwd).
3.

Make the YP password map:
#

¢cd

make

/var/yp
passwd

See Sections 2.6 and 2.7 for further information about modifying

and propagating YP maps.

2.5.6

The /etc/group File

You can reduce the /etc/group file to a single line by using:
+:

This line forces all translation of group names and group identifications to
be made by the YP service.

2.6

Modifying and Creating YP Maps

You should modify the YP maps that YP serves on the YP master server,
which then propagates copies of its modified data bases to the YP slave
servers.

You can modify the maps you expect to change most frequently,

such as passwd, by first editing the ASCII file and then running make on
Ivarlyp/Makefile.

For example, to add a YP user, follow these steps:

Edit the YP master server’s passwd file and add an entry for the
new user.
If you have chosen to move the default files as noted in
Section 2.4.1, edit the directory.
For example, edit
Ivarfyp/src/passwd.
Otherwise, edit the local file /etc/passwd.

Type:
#

make

/var/yp

passwd

Whether you use the Makefile command in /var/yp or some other procedure,
the goal is the same; a new pair of dbm files must be created in the
domain directory on the YP master server.
For further information, see
ypmake(8yp) in the ULTRIX Reference Pages.
You can manually edit nonstandard YP maps that are specific to the
applications of a particular vendor or site, YP maps that you expect to
change rarely, or YP maps for which no ASCII form exists, such as maps
that did not exist before YP was set up.
Use the makedbm command
with the —u option to disassemble the YP maps into a form that can be
modified using standard tools such as awk, sed, or vi.
Then, build a new
version of the YP maps using the makedbm command.
You can do this
manually in two ways:

You can redirect makedbm output to a temporary file that can be
modified and then piped back into makedbm.

You can operate on the makedbm output within a pipeline that feeds
directly into makedbm again.
This is appropriate if you can update
the disassembled map by modifying it with awk or sed, or by
appending to it with cat.

For example, suppose that you want to create a nonstandard YP map,
called mymap, and that you want it to consist of key-value pairs in which
the keys are strings such as al, bl, cl, and so forth, and the values are ar,
br, cr and so forth.
There are two procedures that you can follow when
creating maps.
In one, you use an existing ASCII file as input; in the
other, you use standard input.
®

If there is an existing ASCII file, you can create the YP map for it
using the makedbm command.
For example, if the file is named
/varlyp/src/mymap.asc and resides on the YP master server called
ypmaster for a domain called market, you can create the YP map by
typing:

#
#

/var/yp/src
/var/yp/makedbm

mymap.asc

../market/mymap

To update the YP map, remember to modify the ASCII file first.
Modifications made to the map, but not also made to the ASCII file
would become lost.
Make the modification like this:

/var/yp/src

mymap.asc

/var/yp/makedbm

mymap.asc

../market/mymap

If there is no original ASCII file, you can create the YP map by
typing input like the following.
In this example, the default domain
is market:
#

/var/yp/makedbm

/var/yp/market
-

mymap

If you need to modify that map, you can use makedbm to create a

temporary ASCII intermediate file, which you can edit using standard

tools.

For example:

c¢d

/var/yp/market
/var/yp/makedbm -u

mymap

> mymap.tem

You can now edit mymap.temp so that it contains the correct
To create a new version of the YP map, type:

information.
#

/var/yp/makedbm

mymap.temp

mymap

mymap.temp

Support on the YP slave servers for propagation of the new maps

consists of appropriate entries either in /usr/lib/crontab
or in one of
the ypxfr shell scripts mentioned in Section 2.7.
To get an initial
copy of the map, you can run ypxfr by hand on each of the slave
servers.
The map must be globally available before clients begin to

access it.

If the map is available from some YP servers, but not all,

you get unpredictable behavior from client programs.

After you have modified the YP maps, you need to propagate them
to the
other servers on the domain.
See Section 2.7 for a description of how to

propagate YP maps.

2.7

Propagating YP Maps

To propagate a YP map is to move it from place to place, usually
from
the master YP server to a slave.
The YP maps can be propagated from

following sections.

2.7.1

Using make to Propagate YP Maps

You can propagate the default YP maps from the master YP server using
the make command, as described in Section 2.6.

For example, to

propagate the hosts file, type:
ypmaster#

ypmaster#

make

/var/yp

hosts

The Makefile automatically runs the yppush command to push the YP map
from the YP master server to the slave servers on the domain.
ypmake(8yp)

See

in the ULTRIX Reference Pages for further information about

how make propagates the YP maps.
The yppush command uses the ypservers YP map to obtain a list of YP
servers in your domain.
Transfer Map request.

To each of the named YP servers, it sends a
The ypserv command forks a copy of ypxfr, invoking

it with the —C option, passing the information it needs to identify the
map, and calling back the initiating yppush process with a summary status.

2.7.2

Using makedbm to Propagate

YP Maps

You can propagate nondefault YP maps from the YP master server using
makedbm and then yppush, as described in Section 2.6.

For example, to

propagate a nondefault YP map called sales.asc that resides in /varf/yp/src

on the domain market, type:
ypmaster#

ypmaster#

/var/yp/makedbm

/var/yp/src

ypmaster#

yppush

sales.asc

../market/sales

sales

The yppush command uses the ypservers YP map to obtain a list of YP
servers in your domain.
Transfer Map request.

To each of the named YP servers, it sends a
The ypserv command forks a copy of ypxfr, invoking

it with the -C option, passing the information it needs to identify the
map, and calling back the initiating yppush process with a summary status.

2.7.3

Using ypxfr to Propagate YP Maps

After you have initialized a YP slave server, you can propagate the YP
maps from the YP master server by using the ypxfr command in two
ways:

Running ypxfr from cron
Maps have differing rates of change; for instance, the protocols YP

map might not change for months at a time, but the passwd YP

can set up the /usr/lib/crontab file entries to run ypxfr periodically at
a rate appropriate for any map in your YP data base.
The ypxir
command contacts the master server and transfers the map only if

the master’s copy is more recent than the local one.

To avoid needing a crontab entry for each map, you can group
several maps with approximately the same change characteristics
together in a shell script, which can be run from /usr/lib/crontab.

Suggested groupings, mnemonically named, are in the /var/yp
ypxfr_1perhour, ypxfr_1iperday, and ypxfr_2perday.

directory:

(If you
set up a YP slave server with ypsetup, these entries are placed in
{usr/lib/crontab automatically.)
If the rates of change are
inappropriate for your environment, you can easily modify or replace
these shell scripts.

These shell scripts should be run on each YP slave server in the
domain.
You should alter the exact time of execution from one
server to another to prevent the master from overloading.
If you
want the map transferred from some particular server other than the
master, you can specify this using ypxfr's —h option within the

shell

script.

Finally, you can check and transfer maps that have unique
change characteristics by explicitly invoking ypxfr from within
/usr/iib/crontab.
15

For example:
*

/var/yp/ypxfr_lperday

In this example, /var/yp/ypxfr_1iperday is a script.

See ypxfr(8yp)

and cron(8)

further information.

in the ULTRIX Reference Pages for

Running ypxfr manually
You can run ypxfr manually as a command.
Typically, you do this
only in exceptional situations, such as when setting up a temporary
YP server to create a test environment or when quickly trying to

update an out-of-date YP server’s YP maps.

For example, to

propagate the group YP map, type:
ypslave#

/usr/etc/ypxfr

group.byname

ypslave#

/usr/etc/ypxfr

group.bygid

Be sure you run ypxfr for each file making up the YP map.
Each of the ypxfr transfer attempts and results can be captured in a
log file.
If the file /var/yp/ypxfr.log exists, then the results are
appended to it.
There is no attempt to limit the log file length.
To
stop the information from accumulating in the log file, remove

Ivarlyplypxfr.log.

See ypxfr(8yp)

further information.

in the ULTRIX Reference Pages for

2.8

Modifying the YP Environment

This section describes how to modify the YP environment.

The following

topics are discussed in this section:
®

Adding YP servers to the domain

Removing YP slave servers from the domain

Changing a YP map’s master server

Adding users to a YP client

2.8.1

Adding YP Servers to the Domain

To add a YP slave server to the domain, begin by modifying the maps on
the YP master server.

If the new server is a host that has not been a

YP server before, you must add the host name to the ypservers map in
the master YP server’s default domain.

For example, the sequence for

adding a server named osprey to domain market is:
ypmaster#

¢d

ypmaster#

(/var/yp/makedbm

/var/yp

|/var/yp/makedbm

-u

market/ypservers

;

echo

osprey)\

tmpmap

ypmaster#

tmpmap.dir

market/ypservers.dir

ypmaster#

tmpmap.pag

market/ypservers.pag

ypmaster#

yppush

ypservers

Note

The second command in this example is on two lines.

You can

type these lines as one long command even if the line wraps on
your screen, or you can use the backslash escape character (),

as shown.

However, you cannot simply type half the command

(without the backslash), press the RETURN key, and type the
second half.
The new host address should also be in the hosts YP map.

If it is not,

add an entry for this host to the YP master server’s master hosts file and
then run make.

For example, if the hosts file is stored as /etc/hosts, the

commands are:
ypmaster#

/etc/hosts

ypmaster#

/var/yp

ypmaster#

make

hosts

(continued on next page)

The new YP slave server’s data bases should be set up by copying the
files from the YP master server.
To do this, log in to the new YP slave
and set up the YP environment as described in Section 2.3 for the
automatic procedure and Section 2.4.2 for the manual procedure.

After you have added a server to the domain, you need to propagate the
YP maps from the YP master server to the new slave.
See Section 2.7
for a description of how to propagate YP maps.
2.8.2

Removing YP Slave Servers from the

Domain

To remove a YP slave server from the domain, begin by modifying the
maps on the YP master server.
You need to remove the server’s host

name from the ypservers map in the master YP server’s default domain.
For example, the sequence for removing a server named osprey from
domain market is:
ypmaster#

ypmaster#

/var/yp/makedbm

grep

-v

/var/yp
-u

market/ypservers

osprey|/var/yp/makedbm

tmpmap

ypmaster#

tmpmap.dir

market/ypservers.dir

ypmaster#

tmpmap.pag

market/ypservers.pag

ypmaster#

yppush

ypservers

Note

The second command in this example is on two lines.
You can
type these lines as one long command even if the line wraps on
your screen,

or you can use the backslash escape

character ( V),

as shown.

However, you cannot simply type half the command
(without the backslash), press the RETURN key, and type the

second half.

2.8.3

Changing a YP Map’s Master Server

To change a YP map’s master server to a different system, first build the
map at the new master.
Because the old YP master’s name occurs as a

key-value pair in the existing map, it is not sufficient to use an existing

copy at the new master server or to send a copy there with ypxfr.

The
key must be reassociated with the new master’s name.
If the map has an
ASCII source file, the current version should be present at the new
master.

Remake the YP map locally with the sequence:

newmaster#

make

/var/yp

salary.byhour

In this example, salary.byhour is the name of the YP map.
The
Ivarlyp/Makefile file must be set up correctly for the make
command to
work.
If it is not, you should do it before doing anything else.
In
addition, go back to the old master (if it is to remain a
YP server) and
edit /var/yp/Makefile so that the salary.byhour map is no
longer made there.
To do this, comment out the section that made the map
(salary.byhour) in
the old master server’s /var/yp/Makefile.
If the map only exists as a dbm file, you can recreate it
on the new

master by disassembling an existing copy from any YP
server and running

the disassembled version back through makedbm.
newmaster#

newmaster#

ypcat

For example:

/var/yp

/var/yp/makedbm

-k

salary.byhour

market/salary.byhour

After making the map on the new master, you need to send
a new copy
of the map to the other YP slave servers.
Do not use yppush, because
the other slaves would try to get new copies from the old
master, rather
than the new one.
A typical method is to become superuser on the old
master server and

type:

oldmaster#

/var/yp/ypxfr

—-h

newmaster

salary.byhour

Now that you have a new copy on the old master server,
you can run

yppush.
The remaining slave servers will attempt to get the
current
version of the map from the old master server.
When they do, they will
get the new map, which names the new master as
the current master.

2.8.4

Adding Users to a

YP Client

To add a user to a YP client on the network, add an
entry to the YP

master server’s password file and create a home
directory on the new

user’s system as described in the following steps:
1.

Edit the YP master server’s /etc/passwd file

Update the YP map
Make a home directory

Set up the new user’s environment
Propagate the updated YP map

2.8.4.1
Edit the YP Master Server’'s /etc/passwd File - On the YP
master server, add a new line to the master copy of the password file. If
you are using the file /etc/passwd as the master copy, use the vipw
command. The vipw command brings the password file into the vi editor
and prevents anyone else from editing it until you are done:
ypmaster#

/etc/vipw

Otherwise, edit the master copy.
#

For example:

/var/yp/src/passwd

The passwd file is a readable ASCII file with a one-line entry for each
valid user on the system.
Here is a sample passwd entry for a user
named dJane Doe:
doe: fnuTqggab.6yec:444:10:Jane

Doe:/usr/staff/doe:/bin/csh

See the Guide to System Environment Setup for a description of how to
edit the passwd file to add a new user.
Note

The remote systems on the network recognize a user by the user
identification (UID) number.
Therefore, it is important that each
user have the same UID on each of the systems on the network.

2.8.4.2
Update the YP Map - After you have updated the YP master
server’s password file and created a password for the new user, be sure to
update the YP map by running /var/yp/make for /etc/passwd:
ypmaster#

ypmaster#

make

/var/yp

passwd

You need to adjust the make command if the master copy of the passwd
file is kept somewhere other than /etc.
For example, if the passwd file is
in /varlypl/src, type:
ypmaster#

ypmastier#

make

/var/yp
DIR=/var/yp/src

passwd

2.8.4.3
Make a Home Directory ~ On the new user’s system, create a
home directory for the new user.
Use the same directory name that you
specified in the YP master server’s /etc/passwd file.
For example, if you

are setting up a new user doe in /usr/staff, use this sequence of

commands:

ypclient#

mkdir

doe

ypclient#

chown

doe

ypclient#

chgrp

/usr/staff

doe
doe

A common group identification number is 10.
See group( 5yp)
ULTRIX Reference Pages for further information.

in the

If the YP map for the password file has not yet been updated on the
system’s YP server, you get an error message when you attempt to run
the chown command.
The format of the message is:
unknown user id:

username

In that case, you can use the new user’s UID number (from the
instead of the login name to change the owner of
the home directory.
Here is the format of the command:
letc/passwd file entry)

chown userid# username

See the Guide to System Environment Setup for further information about

setting up new user accounts.

2.8.4.4
Set Up the New User’'s Environment - You can define new
users’ login environments in several ways.
For example, you might give

new users

a copy of such files as

.login and

.cshrc

if they use the C

shell

(/bin/csh), or just .profile if they use the Bourne shell (/bin/sh).
Copies of
the default environment files are stored in the directory /usr/skel.
See the
Guide to System Environment Setup and csh(1) and sh(1) in the ULTRIX

Reference Pages for further information about setting up a new user’s
environment.

If the new user is a member of any groups at your site, add his or her
login name to the /etc/group file as necessary.
Be sure to make the
changes to the /etc/group and /etc/netgroup files on the YP master server
if you are running YP.
See group(5yp) and groups(1) in the ULTRIX

Reference Pages for more information about user groups.

2.8.4.5
Propagate the Updated YP Map - After you have modified the
YP maps to include the new user, you need to propagate them to the
other servers on the domain.
See Section 2.7 for a description of how to

propagate YP maps.

Maintaining and Managing the Yellow Pages Service 3

This chapter explains how to maintain and manage the Yellow Pages (YP)
service.

There are many ways you can use the YP service on your

system, and some are more efficient than others for your particular YP

domain.

The information included in this chapter will help you understand

the implications of setting up YP in various manners.
This chapter also discusses system security with YP and offers ways to
increase this security.

3.1

System Security with YP

This section describes the various aspects of system security while YP is
running.

For further information about security, see yppasswd(1lyp),

hosts.equiv(5yp), exports(5yp), passwd(5yp), group(5yp), netgroup(5yp), and

yppasswdd(8yp)

3.1.1

in the ULTRIX Reference Pages.

Global and Local YP Files

Of the YP maps, the following are originally in the /etc directory before
YP is set up:

/etc/group, /etc/hosts, /etc/networks, /etc/passwd,

/etc/protocols, /etc/rpc, and /etc/services.
In addition, YP uses the /etc/netgroup file to create the netgroup YP map.

The YP maps are divided into local and global file types.
and /etc/group files are local files.

The /etc/passwd

They are first checked for on the local

system, and then any entries beginning with the YP special characters ( +,
-, @)

are interpreted as appropriate.

The remaining YP maps (hosts, netgroup, networks, protocols, rpc, and
services)

are treated as global files only.

The information in these maps is

network-wide data and is accessed only from YP.

However, when booting,

each system needs an entry in /etc/hosts for itself.
In summary, if YP is running, local files are consulted first; global files are
only checked in the YP maps.

3.1.2

Local System Files with Pointers to YP Maps

The files /etc/hosts.equiv and /.rhosts are not in the YP data base.
system has its own unique copy.

Each

However, you can place entries in your

/etc/hosts.equiv file that refer to YP.

Consider the following sample line:

+@engineering

Because this entry begins with

+@, it includes all members of engineering

as it is defined in the YP map netgroup.

the /etc/netgroup file.)

(The @ refers to members of

A line consisting only of +

includes everyone in

the /etc/hosts.equiv file.

Conversely, an entry starting with
network group.

- @

excludes everyone listed in that

For example, the following entry excludes everyone listed

within the network group sales:
-@sales

To be able to log in to a remote system without having a password, you
need to have an entry for your local system name in the /etc/hosts.equiv
file and an entry for your login name in the /etc/passwd file (on the
remote system).

By having a plus (+)

entry in /etc/hosts.equiv, you

effectively bypass this check, and anyone with a login entry in the
letc/passwd file is allowed to log in to the system over the network

without restriction.
The /etc/passwd and /etc/group files can also have plus and minus ( +,-)
entries.

A line such as the following in the /etc/passwd file pulls an entry

for doe from YP:
+doe::::John

Doe:/usr2/doe:/bin/csh

The user and group identifications and the password are obtained from YP.
The description field, home directory, and default shell are obtained from

the plus (+)

entry itself.

On the other hand, an /etc/passwd entry such as the following gets all of
its information from YP:
+doe:

Notice the differences in the following two entries:
+doe::1189:10:John
doe::1189:10:John

H.
H.

Doe:/usr2/doe:/bin/csh
Doe:/usr2/doe:/bin/csh

In the first of the two entries, the password field is obtained from YP.
the second entry, user doe has no password.

Also, if there is no entry for

doe in YP, then the effect of the first entry is as if no entry for doe

were present at all.
Note

Do not put the following entry in the /etc/passwd file:
+::0:0:::

This entry would make every YP client on the network insecure.
Each user whose password data is obtained from the YP service
rather than the local /etc/passwd file would have root
identification and permissions.
Finally, an entry such as the following excludes the user doe from being
allowed to log in to the system:
—-doe:

See Chapter 1 for further information about the plus and minus entries.

3.2

YP Map Access Policies

This section summarizes the policies used by the C-library routines when
they access the following files on a system running YP:
letc/group

Always consulted.- If there are plus or minus ( +,-)

entries, the YP

group map is consulted; otherwise, YP is unused.
/etc/hosts
Consulted only when booting (by the ifconfig command in the
/etc/rc.local file).

After that, the YP hosts map is used.

/etc/hosts.equiv
Always consulted, but not kept in the YP maps.
minus ( +,-)

If there are plus or

entries whose arguments are network groups, the YP

netgroup map is consulted; otherwise, YP is unused.

/etc/netgroup
Never consulted.

The /etc/netgroup file is used only for the

construction of the YP netgroup map.

All data is taken from YP.

letc/networks
Never consulted.

The data that was formerly read from this file now

comes from the YP networks map.
/etc/passwd

Always consulted.

If there are plus or minus ( +,~)

entries, the YP

password map is consulted; otherwise, YP is unused.
/etc/protocols
Never consulted.

The data that was formerly read from this file now
—

——

.rhosts

Always consulted, but not kept in the YP maps.
If there are plus or
minus ( +,-) entries whose arguments are network groups, the YP
netgroup map is consulted; otherwise, YP is unused.

/etc/services

Never consulted.
The data that was formerly read from this file now
comes from the YP services map.
/etc/svcorder

Always consulted.

This file specifies the order in which database
lookup services are to be queried.

3.3

Special YP Password Change

When you change your password with the passwd command, you change
the entry explicitly given in the local /etc/passwd file.
If your password is
not given explicitly, but is pulled in from YP with a plus ( +) entry, then

the passwd command prints this error message:
Not

passwd

file.

If you are running YP on your system, the special account password
entries are stored in /etc/passwd, but general user accounts are typically
stored in /var/yp/passwd.
Therefore, to change the superuser (root)
password you must use the passwd command. To change a general user’s
password in YP, you must use the yppasswd command.
To enable the yppasswd command, the system administrator must start the
yppasswdd daemon on the system serving as the master for the YP
password file.
The following entry in the /etc/rc.local file causes the
yppasswdd daemon to start automatically each time the system is booted:
/usr/etc/rpc.yppasswdd

See yppasswdd(8yp)

/etc/passwd

-m

passwd

DIR=/etc

in the ULTRIX Reference Pages for further

information.

3.4

Netgroups: Network-Wide Groups of Systems and
Users

Netgroups are network-wide groups of systems and users defined in the
/etc/netgroup file on the master YP server.
These groups can be used for
permission checking during remote mount, login, remote login, and remote

shell processes.

The master YP server can use /etc/netgroup to generate three YP maps in
the /varlyp/domainname directory:
netgroup, netgroup.byuser and
netgroup.byhost.
¥

The netgroup YP map contains the basic information in
g g ——

information to speed the lookup process of network groups.

Some programs that consult the YP maps are mountd, rlogin, and rsh.
The mountd program consults them for system classifications, if it
encounters netgroup names in the exports file.

The rlogin and rsh

programs consult the netgroup map for both system and user classifications

if they encounter netgroup names in the hosts.equiv or .rhosts file.
If you place your /etc/netgroup file in a source directory (such as
Ivar/yp/src), then when you execute the make command in the /var/yp

directory, the make command will not find the netgroup file.
this, update the netgroup file in the source directory.
letc/netgroup before executing the make command.
see make(1l)

To correct

Then copy it to

For more information,

in the ULTRIX Reference Pages.

For information on the /etc/netgroup file format, see netgroup(5yp)
ULTRIX Reference Pages.

in the

See the Guide to the Network File System for

information about the Network File System (NFS).

Here is a sample /etc/netgroup file for the domain market:
#

Engineering:

The

system

Everyone,

“testing’

but

eric,

used

has
all

a
of

system;
the

has

hardware

system.

group.

#
engineering

hardware

software

hardware

(mercury,alan,market)

(venus,beth,market)

(testing,-,market)

software

(earth,chris,market)

(mars,deborah,market)

(-,eric,market)

#
#

Marketing:

Time-sharing

star

#
marketing

(star,fran,market)

(jupiter,greg,market)\

(jupiter,dan,market)

#
#

Others

allusers

(-, ,market)

allhosts

(,-,market)

Based on this sample, the users would be classified into groups for the
domain market as follows:

Group

Users

hardware
software
engineering
marketing
allusers
allhosts

alan, beth
chris, deborah, eric
alan, beth, chris, deborah, eric
fran, greg, dan
every user in the passwd YP map
no users

Here is how the systems would be classified:

Group

Hosts

hardware

mercury, venus, testing

software

earth, mars

engineering

mercury, venus, testing,

marketing

star, jupiter

earth,

allusers

no hosts

allhosts

all hosts in the hosts YP map

mars

Troubleshooting the Yellow Pages Service 4

This chapter describes the most common causes of YP malfunctions and
provides some methods for solving the problems.

The topics discussed are:

How to solve problems on a YP client and a YP server

How to solve problems on a YP client

The source of a YP problem usually lies in one of the following areas:
®

There are no YP servers on the domain running the ypserv daemon

The network or the YP server is overloaded

The YP client has not set the domain name properly for the system

The ypbind process is not running

The network is down

Before you can solve YP problems, you must be familiar with how YP
operates and you should be familiar with the following YP commands and

daemons:

domainname, portmap, ypbind, ypcat, ypmake, ypmatch,

yppasswdd, yppoll, yppush, ypserv, ypsetup, ypwhich, and ypxfr.

For

additional information, see Chapter 2.
When solving YP problems, keep in mind that there are three main points
of failure: the server, the client, or the network.
Note

The client and the server must be connected by a network for

YP to be able to run and serve data bases properly.

4.1 How to Solve Problems on a YP Client
This section provides a description of common errors on a YP client and
offers solutions for these problems.

Commands hang

YP service unavailable

The ypbind process exits

The problems are:

The ypwhich command is inconsistent

4.1.1

Commands Hang

The most common problem on a YP client is for a command to hang and
generate console messages of this form:
yp:

server not

responding

for domain

<domainname>.

Still trying

This message indicates that ypbind on the local system is unable to
communicate with ypserv in the specified domain.
Commands may hang if
systems that run ypserv are taken off the network for any reason.
This

may also occur if the network or the YP server is so overloaded that

ypserv cannot get a response back to the local system’s ypbind within the

timeout period.

Under these circumstances, the other YP clients on the
network show the same or similar problems.
The condition is temporary in
most cases.
The messages usually disappear when a YP server reboots

and ypserv is running again, or when the load decreases on the YP servers

or the Ethernet.

However, in the following circumstances, the situation does not improve:
®

The YP client has not set, or has incorrectly set, the domain name
on the system.
Clients must use a domain name that the YP
servers know.
Use the domainname command to see the client

domain name.

Compare that with the domain name set on the YP
The domain name should be set in the /etc/rc.local file.
For example, if the domain name is market, there should be an entry
in the /etc/rc.local file similar to this:
servers.

/bin/domainname

market

If /etc/rc.local fails to set, or incorrectly sets, the domainname, you
should do the following:
1.

Become superuser on the system in question.

Edit /etc/rc.local to fix the domain name line with a proper
name.
This assures the domain name will be correct every

time the system boots.

Set domain name manually, so it is fixed immediately.
example, if the domain name is market, type:
#

domainname

For

market

If your domain name is correct, make sure your local network has at
least one YP server.
You can bind to a ypserv process only on your
local network, not on another accessible network.
There must be at
P
s

network.

Two or more YP servers improve availability and response

characteristics for the YP service.
If your local network has a YP server, make sure it is running.

Check other systems on your local network.

If several client systems

have problems simultaneously, suspect a server problem.
Find a client system that is operating normally and run the ypwhich

command.

If ypwhich does not return an answer, terminate it and

go to a terminal on the YP server and type:
#

grep

Look for ypserv and ypbind processes.
-

If the ps command shows no ypserv process running, start one:
#

Depending upon the results:

/usr/etc/ypserv

If the ypserv daemon was running but the ypbind daemon is not,
start it by typing:
#

/etc/ypbind

Then execute ypwhich on the YP server.

If ypwhich still returns no

answer, ypserv has probably hung and should be restarted.

Terminate

the existing ypserv and ypbind processes and start them again.

For

example, if the process IDs are 102 and 121, type:
#

kill

/usr/etc/ypserv

-9

102

121

/etc/ypbind

The process ID numbers are found by using the ps command.

4.1.2

YP Service

Unavailable

If other systems on the network appear to be running properly, but the
YP service becomes unavailable on your system, many different symptoms
can appear, such as:

Some commands appear to operate correctly, while others terminate,
printing an error message about the unavailability of YP.

Some commands run inefficiently in a backup strategy particular to
the program involved.

Some commands or daemons exit with obscure messages or no
message at all.

Messages such as the following may appear (in this

example, the domain name is market):

ypcat

ypcat:

passwd
can’'t

Reason:
#

bind

can’t

/var/yp/yppoll

server

communicate

for

with

domain

ypbind.

passwd.byname

RPC_TIMEDOUT

If symptoms such as these occur, type the following while in a
directory containing files owned by many users, including users not in
your system’s /etc/passwd file (such as /usr):
#

-1

If the Is command reports file owners who are not in your system’s
/etc/passwd file as numbers, rather than names, this is another indication

that YP is not working.
These symptoms usually indicate that the ypbind process is not running.
You can run the ps command with the a and x options to check for one.
If you do not find the ypbind process, type the following to start it:
#

/etc/ypbind

Another possibility is that the /etc/svcorder file in incorrect.

Be sure this

file has an entry for YP.

4.1.3

The ypbind

Process Exits

If the ypbind process exits almost immediately each time it is started, you
should look for a problem in some other part of the system.

Check for

the presence of the portmap daemon by typing:
#

grep

portmap

If you do not find it running, reboot the system.

If the portmap daemon does not stay up or acts unusual, look for more
fundamental problems.
You may be able to talk to the portmap daemon on your system from
another system on your network that is operating normally.
system, use the rpcinfo command.

From such a

For example, if your system is named

spice and the system that is operating normally is named sugar, type the

following from sugar:
sugar#

rpcinfo

—-p

spice

If your portmap daemon is running properly, the output should look like:

program

vers

proto

100003

udp

port

2049

nfs

100005

udp

1025

mountd
ypserv

100004

udp

1033

100004

tcp

1024

ypserv

100004

udp

1033

ypserv

100004

tcp

1024

ypserv

100007

tcp

1025

ypbind

100007

udp

1045

vypbind

100007

tcp

1025

ypbind

100007

udp

1045

vypbind

The port numbers on your system may be different from those shown.
If the ypbind processes are not there, ypbind has been unable to register
its services.

Reboot your system.

If the ypbind processes are there and

they change each time you try to restart /etc/ypbind, then reboot the
system, even if the portmap daemon is running.

4.1.4

The ypwhich Command Is Inconsistent

If you use the ypwhich command several times at the same client system,

the answer you get back may vary because the YP server can change.
The binding of a YP client to a YP server can change over time on a
busy network, or when the YP servers are busy.

Whenever possible, the

system stabilizes at a point where all clients get acceptable response time
from the YP servers.

As long as your client system gets the YP service,

it does not matter where the service comes from.

A YP server often gets

its own YP service from another YP server on the network.

4.2

How to Solve Problems on a YP Server

This section provides a description of common errors on a YP server and

offers solutions to these problems.
Because YP works by propagating maps among servers, you can sometimes
find different versions of a map on different servers on the network.
transient, this version skew is normal.

Otherwise, it is abnormal.

Most commonly, a normal update is prevented when a YP server or a
network gateway system between YP servers is down during a map
transfer attempt.

When the YP servers and the network gateways between
them are running, ypxfr should succeed.

If a particular slave server has update problems, log in to that server and
run ypxfr interactively.

If ypxfr fails, it prints an error message that will

help you solve the problem.

If ypxfr succeeds, but you believe that it is

failing at times, create a log file to enable the logging of messages by
typing:

¢cd

touch

/var/yp
ypxfr.log

This saves all output from ypxfr.

The output looks much like what ypxfr

creates when run interactively, but each line in the log file is timestamped.
You might see unexpected orderings in the timestamps.

The timestamp

tells you when ypxfr began its work.

If copies of ypxfr ran simultaneously,
but their work took different amounts of time, they might write their
summary status line to the log files in a different order.

Any pattern of intermittent failure shows in the log file.
After you have
fixed the problem, turn off logging by removing the log file.
If you forget
to remove it, it grows without limit.
While still logged in to the problem YP slave server, inspect /usr/lib/crontab
and the ypxfr shell scripts it invokes.
Typing mistakes in these files can
cause propagation problems.
Failures to refer to a shell script within
crontab or failures to refer to a map within any shell script can also cause

propagation problems.

Make sure that the YP slave server is in the ypservers map within the
If it is not, it still works as a server, but yppush will not tell it
when a new copy of a map exists.
domain.

If the problem is not obvious, you can work around it while you debug by
using the rcp or tftp command to copy the current version from any stable
YP server.
You might not be able to do this as superuser, but you
probably will be able to do it as daemon.
For example, type the following
to transfer a map called buster:
I,
O I

chown

root

/var/yp/market/buster.*

chmod

go-w

/var/yp/market

go+w

/var/yp/market

daemon

rcp

ypmaster:/var/yp/market/buster.\*

/var/yp/market

Notice that the asterisk (*) has been escaped with a backslash in the
command line so that it will be expanded on the YP master server,
instead of locally.
In addition, notice that the map files should be owned
by root, so you must change ownership of them after the transfer.
It is
easiest if you can do the rcp command as superuser.

Note

Because of architectural differences between VAX processors and
non-DIGITAL processors, you may not be able to copy files from
one processor to another using the rcp command.
The ypxfr
command, however, does resolve the byte ordering differences
found in a heterogeneous networking environment.

4.2.1

YP Does Not Update

Data

Base

If you change a data base and then execute a make command, the data

base may not get updated.

If this happens, remove the file data base.time

from the directories /var/lyp and /var/yp/domainname.

For example, if the netgroup file of the domain market is changed and
successfully updated, the make command should respond with:
netgroup

updated

If the make command instead states that the netgroup is up to date, enter
33
I I I 3

these commands:
cd

/var/yp

netgroup.time

cadnetwork

netgroup.time

make

4.2.2

netgroup

The ypserv Process Exits

If the ypserv process exits almost immediately and will not stay up even
when repeatedly activated, the process of finding the problem is virtually
identical to that described in Section 6.5.1.3.

Check for the portmap

daemon:
#

grep

portmap

Reboot the server if you do not find it.
rpcinfo command:
#

/usr/etc/rpcinfo

However, if it is there, run the

-p

program

vers

proto

port

100003

udp

2049

nfs

100005

udp

1025

mountd

100004

udp

1033

100004

tcp

1024

ypserv
ypserv

100004

udp

1033

ypserv

100004

tcp

1024

ypserv

100007

tcp

1025

ypbind

100007

udp

1045

ypbind

100007

tcp

1025

ypbind

100007

udp

1045

ypbind

The port numbers on your system may be different from those shown.

ypserv processes are not there, ypserv has been unable to register its

services.
Reboot the system.
If the ypserv processes are there but they
change each time you try to restart /usr/etc/ypserv, reboot the system.

Index

Special Characters

.rhosts file

home directory

YP and, 3-2

creating

hosts file
See also hosts.byaddr file

See also hosts.name file
editing for YP, 2-13

client
server and,

1-2

crontab file
editing, 2-10

YP and,

1-4

hosts.byaddr file, 1-4
hosts.byname file,

1-4

hosts.equiv file
editing for YP, 2-12

referring to YP, 3-2
YP and, 3-2

dbm file
storing data, 1-3

domain
See YP domain
domain name
setting, 4-2

makedbm command

defined, 1-6
master server

See YP master server

G
group file
editing for YP, 2-14

pulling entries from YP, 3-2
YP and, 1-5

N
netgroup file

format, 3-5e
YP and, 1-5, 34

YP client and, 2-12

netgroup.byhost, 3-4

.-rhosts file

netgroup.byuser, 3-4

restricting access, 2-13

rpe file

netgroups

defined, 3-4

YP and,

networks file

1-5

YP client and, 2-12

YP and, 1-5

RPC port mapper

YP client and, 2-12

See port mapper

passwd file

server

See also passwd.byname file
See also passwd.byuid file

client and, 1-2
services file

editing for YP, 2-13

YP and,

editing master server’s, 2-22

YP client and, 2-12

last entry, 2-14n

slave server

pulling entries from YP, 3-2
user ID and, 2-22n
YP and,

See YP slave server
svcorder file

1-5

YP special characters and,

1-5

defined, 2-3
1-5

if incorrect, 4-4

passwd.byname file, 1-5

if missing, 2-3

passwd.byuid file, 1-5

modifying, 2-7

password

YP and, 2-3

changing in YP, 34, 34

system security

logging into remote system without,

passwd file and, 3-3n

3-2
YP and,

YP and, 3-1 to 3-3
1-5

port mapper

starting, 2-5, 2-9, 2-11
protocols file
YP and,

1-5

YP client and, 2-12

U
user environment
setting up, 2-23
uucp utility

YP domain and, 2-14n

R
rc.local file
entry order, 2-7n, 2-10n, 2-11n
rep command

non-DIGITAL processors and, 4-6n

Y
Yellow Pages data base lookup service
See YP service
YP client

adding users, 2-21

YP client (cont.)

YP master server (cont.)

altering local files, 2-12 to 2-14

changing, 2-20 to 2-21

commands hang, 4-2 to 4-3

defined,

defined, 1-2

modifying data base files, 2-6n

setting up manually, 2-10 to 2-11

required data base files, 2-4

troubleshooting, 4-1 to 4-5
YP data base

changes to,

1-2

setting up, 2-4 to 2-8

YP password server daemon

1-2

updating, 4-7

starting, 2-6

YP server

YP domain