A beginners questions about NIS

[Druzil]

Hello!
I have set up a NIS-server and a couple of NIS-clients just to try it out. However I have a few questions that I haven´t really found an answer to:

in the yp.conf file it seems that you can refer to a NIS-server by adding:

ypserver XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX

or

domain nis.domain.com server XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX

is these two syntax identical?


It seems like it is possible to configure the NIS-server as a NIS-client also. What would a "NIS-server + NIS-client" do compared to a "non-client" NIS-server?


Since the ypserv-process is only running on the NIS-server, then I don´t have to make any changes on the ypserv.securenets config file on any NIS-client, right?


I want a user with local access to the NIS-server only. This user is currently shared with the NIS-clients. How do I remove this user from NIS? (And how do I add a local user on the NIS-server that won´t get added to NIS?).

[Rubberman]

Well, NIS isn't widely used any more except in shops with a lot of legacy Unix servers (Solaris mostly). I haven't had to deal with this cruft in over 10 years (more like 15) so my memory is very hazy. My suggestion is to carefully read the documentation. You should be able to access it on the Oracle/Sun web site if you don't have hard copy available.