FreeBSD Man Pages

ypxfr(8)

NAME

     ypxfr -- transfer NIS database from remote server to local host

SYNOPSIS

     /usr/libexec/ypxfr [-f] [-c] [-d target domain] [-h source host]
			[-s source domain] [-p path]
			[-C taskid program-number ipaddr port] mapname

DESCRIPTION

     The ypxfr utility copies an NIS database (or map) from one NIS server to
     another using NIS services.  In FreeBSD, ypxfr is generally invoked by
     ypserv(8) when it receives a map transfer request from yppush(8).	The
     ypxfr utility is used primarily in environments where several NIS servers
     are in use in a single domain.  One server, the NIS master, maintains the
     canonical copies of all NIS maps, and all the other servers, the NIS
     slaves, copy new versions of the maps from the master whenever any
     updates are made (i.e., when a user updates their password via
     yppasswd(1)).

     When run, ypxfr creates a temporary database file in
     /var/yp/[domainmame], and fills it with the contents of mapname as sup-
     plied by the specified source host.  When the entire map has been trans-
     fered, ypxfr deletes the original copy of mapname and moves the temporary
     copy into its place.  When the transfer is complete, ypxfr will attempt
     to send a 'clear current map' request to the local ypserv(8) process to
     clear any possible references it may still have to the stale map.

     Note that all files created by ypxfr are owner readable and writable only
     for security reasons.  Since the NIS maps and the directory in which they
     reside are normally owned by root, this prevents non-privileged users
     from making unauthorized modifications.

     In order to maintain consistency across all NIS servers, ypxfr can be run
     periodically in a cron(8) job.  Maps which change infrequently need only
     be updated once a day (preferably late at night when system usage is low-
     est), whereas those that are subject to frequent changes (such a
     passwd.byname and passwd.byuid) should be updated perhaps once every
     hour.  Using cron(8) to automatically update the NIS maps is not strictly
     mandatory since all updates should be propagated by yppush(8) when
     /var/yp/Makefile is run on the NIS master server, however it is good
     practice on large networks where possible outages could cause NIS servers
     to fall out of sync with each other.

     When ypxfr is invoked without a controlling terminal, e.g. from inside
     ypserv(8), it logs all its output using the syslog(3) facility.

NOTES

     The FreeBSD version of ypxfr has support for a special map transfer pro-
     tocol which works in conjunction with the FreeBSD rpc.ypxfrd(8) server.
     This protocol allows it to transfer raw map database files from the NIS
     master server and can be many times faster than the standard transfer
     method, particularly for very large NIS maps.  The ypxfr utility will
     check to see if the rpc.ypxfrd(8) server is registered on the NIS master
     server and attempt to use it if it is present.  If it isn't it will fall
     back to the standard transfer method, copying the map contents from
     ypserv(8) and creating new maps instead.

     The following options and flags are supported by ypxfr:

     -f      Force a map transfer.  Normally, ypxfr will not transfer a map if
	     it determines that the NIS master's copy is not newer than the
	     existing copy already on the local host: the -f flag forces a
	     transfer regardless of which server's version is more recent.

     -c      Do not send a 'clear current map' request to the ypserv(8)
	     process running on the local host.  This flag is normally used
	     when invoking ypxfr manually on a machine that is not yet running
	     ypserv(8).  Without this flag, failure to contact the local NIS
	     server will cause ypxfr to abort the transfer.

     -d target domain
	     Specify a target domain other than the current NIS domain.

     -h source host
	     Specify the name of the host from which to copy the NIS maps.
	     This option is used to insure that ypxfr only copies maps from
	     the NIS master server.

     -s source domain
	     Specify the domain from which to transfer a map, in the event
	     that the transfer is being done across two different NIS domains.

     -p path
	     Specify the top level directory containing the NIS maps.  By
	     default, this path is /var/yp.  The -p flag allows you to specify
	     an alternate path should you wish to store your NIS maps in a
	     different part of the file system.  The NIS server, ypserv(8),
	     passes this flag to ypxfr if it too has been told to use an
	     alternate path.

     -C taskid program-number ipaddr port
	     These options are used only when ypxfr is invoked by ypserv(8) in
	     response to a map transfer request initiated by yppush(8).  In
	     this instance, ypxfr needs to 'callback' to the yppush(8) process
	     and interact with it, so yppush(8) passes to it an IP address
	     ipaddr, port number port, registered program number
	     program-number and a transaction ID taskid that it can use to
	     contact the waiting yppush(8) process on the master server.

     mapname
	     The name of the map to transfer.

FILES

     /var/yp/[domainname]/[maps]       The NIS maps for a particular NIS
				       domain.

SEE ALSO

     yp(8), yppush(8), ypserv(8)

AUTHORS

     Bill Paul <wpaul@ctr.columbia.edu>

FreeBSD 5.4		       February 5, 1995 		   FreeBSD 5.4

SPONSORED LINKS