Managing NFS and NIS

Help for UNIX System Administrators

Hal Stern

Publisher: O'Reilly, 1992, 410 pages

ISBN: 0-937175-75-7

Keywords: Networks, System Administration

Last modified: June 15, 2021, 11:26 p.m.

What are NFS and NIS, and why do you need to manage them?

At many installations, the Network Filesystem (NFS) is the "glue" that holds together large, diverse collections of computers. It provides transparent access to files on many different computers using many different operating systems, from personal computers to mainframes. Using NFS, you can access files across the network as if they were your own. However, NFS is usually a "blck box" for most users and administrators. This book shows you what's in the box: how to plan a network filesystem, how to set it up, how to optimize its performance, how to plug security hole, and how to solve common problems like distributed mail management. It also discusses a number of special topics that you won't find elsewhere, including the BFS "automounter" (a facility for mounting and dismounting filesystems as they are used) and the widely-used PC-NFS. A number of books provide either a theoretical basis for NFS or simplified discussions of how to set up your network. This is the only book we know that covers NFS in depth. It links theory and practice, showing you in detail how to get the most out of your network.

If you have worked with a network, you are well aware that the complexity of managing a networek increases much faster than the number of nodes. This book shows you how to use the Network Information System (formerly called "Yellow Pages") to reduce the overhead of network administration. NIS provides a distributed database service that simplifies management of the most important administrative files, like the password and the hosts file. Without NIS, making a simple administrative change requires modifying these files on every system in the network. Once NIS is running, your can modify a single set of files on a "master server", and propagate your changes to the rest of the network. This book also tells you how to use NIS to develop your own distributed database applications, ranging from the simple (like an automated phone list) to the complex (a stock quotation service that uses an NIS database of "licensed" users).

This book provides the only comprehensive discussion of NFS and NIS available anywhere. If you are managing a network of UNIX systems, or are thinking of setting up a UNIX network, you can't afford to overlook it.

  1. Networking Fundamentals
    • Networking Overview
    • Physical and Data Link Layer
      • Frames and Network Interfaces
      • Ethernet Addresses
    • Network Layer
      • Datagram and Packets
      • IP Host Addresses
      • IP Address Classes
    • Transport Layer
      • TCP and UDP
      • Port Numbers
    • The Session and Presentation Layers
      • The Client-Server Model
      • External Data Representation
      • Internet and RPC Server Configuration
  2. Network Information Service Operation
    • Masters, Slaves, and Clients
    • Basics of NIS Management
      • Choosing NIS Servers
      • Installing the NIS Master Server
      • Installing NIS Slave Servers
      • Enabling NIS on Client Hosts
    • Files Managed Under NIS
      • Working with the Maps
      • Netgrups
      • Integrating NIS Maps with Local Files
      • NIS and Password Administration
      • Overriding the NIS Maps
    • NIS Design and Implementation
      • Map Files
      • Map Naming
      • Map Structure
      • NIS Domains
      • Internet Domains Versus NIS Domains
      • The ypserv Daemon
      • The ypbind Daemon
      • NIS Server as an NIS Client
    • Trace of a Key Match
  3. System Management  Using NIS
    • NIS Network Design
      • Dividing a Network Into Domains
      • Domain Names
      • Number of NIS Servers per Domain
    • Managing Map Files
      • Map Distribution
      • Regular Map Transfers
      • Map File Dependencies
      • Password File Updates
      • Source Code Control For Map Files
      • Using Alternate Map Source Files
    • Advanced NIS server Administration
      • Removing an NIS Slave Server
      • Changing NIS Master Servers
    • Managing Multiple Nodes
    • Domain Name Servers
      • DNS versus NIS
      • DNS Integration with NIS
      • DNS Without NIS
      • NIS and DNS Domain Names
      • Domain Aliases
      • Multiple Service Integration
      • What Next?
  4. Building Applications with NIS
    • Locally Defined Maps
      • Building NIS Maps From ASCII Files
      • Modifying the NIS Makefile
      • Installing and Maintaining the Map
      • The phonelist Application
    • Using NFS For Information Distribution
    • The NIS Client Library
      • Integrating NIS Services Into Applications
      • Example: The Stock Quote Service
  5. System Administration Using the Network Filesystem
    • Setting up NFS
    • Exporting Filesystems
      • Rules for Exporting Filesystems
      • Exporting Options
    • Mounting Filesystems
      • Using /etc/fstab
      • Using mount
      • Mount options
      • Background Mounts
      • Hard and Soft Mounts
      • Resolving Mount Problems
    • Symbolic Links
      • Resolving Symbolic Link in NFS
      • Absolute and Relative Pathnames
      • Mount Points, Exports, and Links
    • Naming Schemes
      • Solving the /usr/local Puzzle
      • A User Switchboard
  6. Network File System Design and Operation
    • Virtual File Systems and Virtual Nodes
    • NFS Protocol and Implementation
      • NFS RPC Procedures
      • Statelessness and Crash Recovery
      • Request Retransmission
      • Preserving UNIX Filesystem Semantics
      • Pathnames and File Handles
    • NFS Daemons
      • Server nfsd Daemons
      • Client biod Daemons
      • Kernel NFS Code
    • Caching
      • File Attribute Caching
      • Client Data Caching
      • Server-Side Caching
    • File Locking
      • Lock and Status Daemons
      • Client Lock Recovery
      • Recreating State Information
    • NFS Future
  7. Diskless Clients
    • NFS Support for Diskless Clients
    • Setting up a Diskless Client
    • Diskless Client Boot Process
      • Reverse ARP Requests
      • Getting a Boot Block
      • Booting a Kernel
      • Managing Boot Parameters
    • Managing Client Swap Space
    • Changing a Client's Name
    • Troubleshooting
      • Missing and Inconsistent Client Information
      • Checking Boot Parameters
      • Missing /usr
    • Configuration Options
      • Dataless Clients
      • Swapping on a Local Disk
    • Client/Server Ratios
  8. Network Security
    • User-oriented Network Security
      • Trusted Hosts and Trusted Users
      • Enabling Transparent Access
      • Using Netgroups
    • Password and NIS Security
      • Managing the Root Password with NIS
      • Making NIS More Secure
      • Intruder Alerts
    • NFS Security
      • NFS RPC Authentication
      • Superuser Mapping
      • Unknown User Mapping
      • Access to Filesystems
      • Read-only Access
      • Port Checking
    • Secure RPC and Secure NFS
      • Encryption Techniques
      • How Secure RPC Works
      • Enabling Secure NFS
      • Public and Private Keys
      • Secure NFS Checklist
      • Kerberos
    • Viruses
  9. Centralizing Mail Services with NFS and NIS
    • Creating a Shared Mail Spool
      • Problems With Distributed Spool Directories
      • NFS Mounting the Mail Spool
      • Remote sendmail Execution
      • Mail Hub Forwarding Aliases
      • Mail Notification
    • Name Hiding
    • NIS Alias Expansion
    • Wide-area Aliases
      • Setting Up A Distribution List
      • Handling Errors
      • Archiving and Management
    • Merging NIS and Local Aliases
    • Forwarding
  10. Diagnosis and Administrative Tools
    • Broadcast Addresses
    • MAC and IP Layer Tools
      • ifconfig: Interface Configuration
      • Subnetwork Masks
      • IP to MAC Address Mapping
      • Using ping to Check Network Connectivity
      • Gauging Ethernet Interface Capacity
    • Remote Procedure Call Tools
      • RPC Mechanics
      • RPC Registration
      • Debugging RPC Problems
    • NIS Tools
      • Key Lookup
      • Displaying and Analyzing Client Bindings
      • Other NIS Map Information
      • Modifying Client Bindings
    • NFS Tools
      • Displaying Mount Information
      • NFS Statistics
    • Time Synchronization
  11. Debugging Network Problems
      • Improper Network Termination
    • Duplicate ARP Replies
    • Renegade NIS Server
    • Boot Parameter Confusion
    • Interpreting NFS Error Messages
  12. Performance Analysis and Tuning
    • Characteristics of NFS Behavior
    • Measuring Performance
    • Benchmarking
    • Identifying NFS Performance Bottlenecks
      • Problem Areas
      • Locating Bottlenecks
    • Network Congestion and Network Interfaces
      • Local Network Interface
      • Collisions and Network Saturation
    • Network Partitioning Hardware
      • Protocol Filtering
      • Partitioning With Bridges
      • NIS in a Partitioned Network
      • Effects on Diskless Nodes
    • Server Tuning
      • CPU Loading
      • NFS Server Daemons
      • Memory Usage
      • Disk and Filesystem Throughput
      • Kernel Configuration
      • Cross-mounting Filesystems
      • Multi-homed Servers
    • Client Tuning
      • Slow Server Compensation
      • Soft Mount issues
      • Timeout Calculations
      • Adjusting for Network Reliability Problems
      • NFS Over Wide-area Networks
      • biod Tuning
      • Attribute Caching
      • Mount Point Constructions
      • Routing Information
      • Stale File handles
  13. The Automounter
    • Automounter Maps
      • Indirect Maps
      • Inside the Automounter
      • Direct Maps
    • Invocation and the Master Map
      • The Master Map
      • Command-line Options
      • Tuning Timeout Values
    • Integration with NIS
      • Updating NIS-managed Automount Maps
    • Key and Variable Substitutions
      • Key Substitutions
      • Variable Substitutions
    • Advanced Map Tricks
      • Replicated Servers
      • Hierarchical Mounts
      • Conversion of Direct Maps
      • Subdirectory Fields
    • Side Effects
      • Long Search Paths
      • Local Mounts
      • Avoiding Automounted Filesystems
      • Pathname Cleanup
      • Shutting Down the Automounter
  14. PC/NFS
    • Configuring PC/NFS
      • PC Configuratrion
      • Starting PC/NFS
      • Server Configuration
    • Using PC/NFS
      • Mounting Filesystems
      • Checking File Permissions
      • Filename Mapping
      • Symbolic Links
      • UNIX to DOS file conversion
    • Printer Services
      • Choosing a Printer
      • Redirecting Printer Output
      • How PC/NFS Printing Works
    • Network Redirectot Operation
    • PC/NFS Network Administration
      • Routing
      • Network Tools
      • PC/NFS Network and Mount Parameters
  1. Transmission Line Theory
  2. IP Packet Routing
  3. NFS Problem Diagnosis
    • NFS Server Problems
    • NFS Client Problems
    • NFS errno values
  4. NFS Benchmarks

Reviews

Managing NFS and NIS

Reviewed by Roland Buresund

Very Good ******** (8 out of 10)

Last modified: May 21, 2007, 3:12 a.m.

An excellent book about the subject.

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