passwd command does not update shadow.byname NIS map

Platform: Suse 9.1 Professional

I set up the NIS server using the yast interface.

Apparently, yppasswd is no longer needed to change NIS passwords and
the tool is no longer maintained. The passwd command is suppose to be
used but it does not appear to be updating the shadow.byname NIS map.

I also get the error "Password will be truncated to 8 characters" when
using the passwd command even though I am using MD5 encryption. I
don't know if this is related to the NIS problem.

I edited the ypserve.conf file to allow shadow.byname and
passwd.adjunct.byname.

Do I need to make any edits to the pam module configuration files?

Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Gino