Summary

In this chapter, you learned about the available naming services in Solaris 9. The chapter started by discussing naming service concepts, such as why you would want to use naming services and when to use them.

The first major concept in Solaris naming services is the /etc/nsswitch.conf file. Residing on all clients, this file tells the client where to retrieve naming service information. Options are local files, NIS, NIS+, DNS, and LDAP. You learned how to read, configure, and modify the nsswitch.conf file to meet your networking needs. You also learned about the purpose and function of the Name Service Cache Daemon (NSCD).

After discussing nsswitch.conf, the majority of this chapter focused on the Network Information Service (NIS). NIS was one of the early fully functional naming services developed and is still widely used today. You learned about the structure of NIS, including daemons needed and commands used. You also learned that NIS information is stored in a series of maps. You learned how to create and modify maps, as well as install NIS servers and clients.

Finally, after a brief tour of NIS+, you learned how to configure DNS and LDAP clients. Solaris can function as DNS and LDAP servers as well as clients. In this chapter, you learned how to configure Solaris to function as clients of these important network services.