NIS configuration

[jkmartha]

i want to configure NIS . what exactly is its function ?? is it something like "active directory" in windows ??? what for this service is meant ??? How can i configure it ?? Studied some tutorial but could n't understand. can anyone explain briefly about the configuration ??

[superdan7]

Ok, NIS is used basically to simplify the administration of user password and configuration files for a network. There is one master NIS server, and then there can be other slave NIS servers depending on the size of your network. The NIS servers pass information to one another synchronizing their data. Basically NIS is doing nothing more than segregating your network into logical domains in which your network users will be able to access. If you have 2 NIS domains, and 100 users on a network, and users 1 - 50 are allowed to use domain 1, and users 51 - 100 are on domain 2. When user 81 logs in the information in the NIS server will appropriately route them to use domain 2, because you want them to have access to all of the programs for that domain. It would be like domain 1 didn't even exist to user 81 so they wouldn't have access to any of the programs / files of that domain.