NIS client question

Hi,
I have basic question regarding NIS client.

After binding , does NIS client cache any maps from NIS server or does
it query everytime whenever it requires the map info ?
If it does caching,does NIS server propagate the maps whichever the
NIS client has accessed?
I know the map changes on master server are propagated to Slave
servers using ypmake or yppush command.

Thanks in adavance.
-Santosh

On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 03:18:54 -0700, skwork wrote:

> Hi,
> I have basic question regarding NIS client.
>
> After binding , does NIS client cache any maps from NIS server or does it
> query everytime whenever it requires the map info ?

The NIS client per se does not cache anything. But many Linux distros
install a horrible thing called "nscd" by default which does. Not whole
maps, just entries which have been previously queried.

> If it does
> caching,does NIS server propagate the maps whichever the NIS client has
> accessed?

If nscd is caching NIS data on a client, the server has no way of knowing
this and also no way of "pushing" an update to a client. NIS client/server
transactions are always initiated by the client.

IME nscd is nothing but trouble in a NIS environment. Unless you have a
particularly recalcitrant or slow NIS server, I recommend removing nscd if
you have it.

Nscd comes from Solaris and is designed to improve performance in NIS+
networks. Having never used NIS+ I cannot comment on whether it is useful
in such an environment. But I have never found it so in a NIS one.

Regards, Ian

Thanks for the reply.I'll keep it in mind.
-Santosh

Ian Northeast <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:<(E-Mail Removed)>...
> On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 03:18:54 -0700, skwork wrote:
>
> > Hi,
> > I have basic question regarding NIS client.
> >
> > After binding , does NIS client cache any maps from NIS server or does it
> > query everytime whenever it requires the map info ?
>
> The NIS client per se does not cache anything. But many Linux distros
> install a horrible thing called "nscd" by default which does. Not whole
> maps, just entries which have been previously queried.
>
> > If it does
> > caching,does NIS server propagate the maps whichever the NIS client has
> > accessed?
>
> If nscd is caching NIS data on a client, the server has no way of knowing
> this and also no way of "pushing" an update to a client. NIS client/server
> transactions are always initiated by the client.
>
> IME nscd is nothing but trouble in a NIS environment. Unless you have a
> particularly recalcitrant or slow NIS server, I recommend removing nscd if
> you have it.
>
> Nscd comes from Solaris and is designed to improve performance in NIS+
> networks. Having never used NIS+ I cannot comment on whether it is useful
> in such an environment. But I have never found it so in a NIS one.
>
> Regards, Ian