yp_mkdb(8)

NAME

yp_mkdb - generate the NIS databases

SYNOPSIS

yp_mkdb -c
yp_mkdb -u dbname
yp_mkdb [-c] [-b] [-s] [-f] [-i inputfile] [-o outputfile]
        [-d domainname] [-m mastername] inputfile dbname

DESCRIPTION

The yp_mkdb utility creates db(3) style databases for use

with FreeBSD's
NIS server. The yp_mkdb utility reads data from inputfile,

and writes it
to dbname in db(3) format (using the hash table method).

The input
should be in 'key data' format, which is to say two fields

of ASCII data
separated by white space. The first field is assumed to be

the key, and
everything else is assumed to be the data. These databases

are typically
stored in /var/yp/[domainname] where domainname is the name

of the NIS
domain being served. The yp_mkdb utility is usually invoked

by
/var/yp/Makefile. The yp_mkdb utility can also be used to

dump an NIS
database file so that its contents can be examined. For se

curity reasons, all databases that yp_mkdb creates are readable and

writable by
owner only (and usually the owner is root).

The following options are available:

-c Cause yp_mkdb to send a YPPROC_CLEAR request to

ypserv(8) on the

local host. This signal tells the server to close

any open
database descriptors and flush out its database

cache. If used
alone, this flag signals the server and does nothing

else. If
used as part of a database creation command, yp_mkdb

will send
the signal only after the new database has been suc

cessfully created.

-b Cause yp_mkdb to add a special entry to the database

with a key

of YP_INTERDOMAIN and an empty data field. If this

key is present in a map, it alters the behavior of the 'match'

procedure in
ypserv(8) slightly. If a match query fails (because

the server
could not find a record that matched the supplied

key), and the
YP_INTERDOMAIN key exists within the queried map,

ypserv(8) will
try to match the entry again using a DNS lookup.

Note that this
special behavior only applies to the hosts maps.

Using the -b
flag for other maps has no effect.

-s This flag is used to add a special entry to the

database with a

key of YP_SECURE and an empty data field. If this

key is present
in a map, ypserv(8) will deny access to the map to

any client
that is not using a reserved port for its query.

This is used
mainly for the master.passwd maps, which should be

restricted to
privileged access only.

-f This flag is used to turn on filtering of lines in

the source

file input that start with ``+'' or ``-'' charac

ters. These
characters have special meaning for the group,

passwd and
master.passwd maps and hence should not be allowed

to appear in
them as the first character of a key or datum. If

the -f flag is
used, yp_mkdb will reject any source line that

starts with a
``+'' or ``-'' character and issue a warning message

displaying
the line that was dropped.

-u dbname

Dump (or 'unwind') an NIS database. This option can

be used to
inspect the contents of an existing NIS database.

-i inputfile

When generating an NIS map, encode inputfile as a

special entry
in the database with a key of YP_INPUT_FILE.

-o outputfile

When generating an NIS map, encode outputfile as a

special entry
in the database with a key of YP_OUTPUT_FILE.

-d domainname

When generating an NIS map, encode domainname as a

special entry
in the database with a key of YP_DOMAIN_NAME.

-m mastername

When generating an NIS map, encode mastername as a

special entry
in the database with a key of YP_MASTER_NAME. This

entry in the
database is frequently used by various NIS utilities

to determine
the name of an NIS master server for a domain. By

default,
yp_mkdb assumes that the local host is the NIS mas

ter; the -m
option is used to override this default.

FILES

/var/yp/Makefile the Makefile that calls yp_mkdb to build

the NIS

databases

SEE ALSO

db(3), ypserv(8)

AUTHORS

Bill Paul <wpaul@ctr.columbia.edu>

BSD March 12, 1996

BSD