Naming and Directory Services (DNS, NIS, and LDAP)

These four files are alternate default switch files. Each file is designed for a differentprimary naming service: /etc files, NIS, NIS+, or LDAP. When the Solaris software isfirst installed on a machine, the installer selects the machine’s default naming service:NIS+, NIS, local files, or LDAP. During installation, the corresponding template file iscopied to nsswitch.conf. For example, for a machine client using LDAP, theinstallation process copies nsswitch.ldap to nsswitch.conf. Unless you have anunusual namespace, the default template file as copied to nsswitch.conf should besufficient for normal operation.No default file is provided for DNS, but you can edit any of these files to use DNS. Formore information see “DNS and Internet Access” on page 42.If you later change a machine’s primary naming service, you copy the appropriatealternate switch file to nsswitch.conf. See “The nsswitch.conf Template Files”on page 36. You can also change the sources of particular types of networkinformation used by the client by editing the appropriate lines of the/etc/nsswitch.conf file. The syntax is described below, and additionalinstructions are provided in “How to Modify the Name Service Switch” on page 41.Format of the nsswitch.conf FileThe nsswitch.conf file is essentially a list of 16 types of information and thesources that getXXbyYY() routines search for that information. The 16 types ofinformation, not necessarily in this order, are the following.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■aliasesbootparamsethersgrouphostsipnodesnetgroupnetmasksnetworkspasswd, which includes shadow informationprotocolspublickeyrpcservicesautomountsendmailvarsThe following table provides a description of the kind of sources that can be listed inthe switch file for the information types above.32 System Administration Guide: Naming and Directory Services (DNS, NIS, and LDAP) • January 2005