YPXFR(8) BSD System Manager's Manual YPXFR(8)NAMEypxfr — 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 is not it will fall
back to the standard transfer method, copying the map contents from
ypserv(8) and creating new maps instead.
Note that while the FreeBSD ypxfrd protocol is conceptually similar to
the SunOS ypxfrd protocol, the FreeBSD protocol is not compatible with
Sun's, therefore it will not work with Sun's ypxfrd server. FreeBSD
slave systems can still transfer maps from any non-FreeBSD NIS server,
however they will only be able to take advantage of the faster protocol
if the master server is also running FreeBSD.
OPTIONS
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 ALSOyp(8), yppush(8), ypserv(8)AUTHORS
Bill Paul ⟨wpaul@ctr.columbia.edu⟩
BSD February 5, 1995 BSD
