Adding a new user to an NIS domain

Adding a new user to an NIS domain is similar to adding a new user to a standalone machine, but it requires a few extra steps:

1. If the user will belong to a group that does not already exist, use the Account Manager to define the new group on the master NIS server as described in ``Adding or modifying a group''. This updates the group(4) file.

2. Use the Account Manager to define the new user on the master NIS server as described in ``Adding, copying and modifying user accounts''. This updates the passwd(4) file, and also the shadow(4) file (if this in use).

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   NOTE: The passwd, shadow, and group files in the /etc directory are the default input files for the NIS passwd and group maps on the master server. You can also maintain versions of these files in a separate directory (such as /etc/yp) if you wish to restrict the users and groups that will be included in the maps.

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   The following sample entry is from a NIS master server's passwd input file:

   kathy:x:1953:10:process team:/home/kathy:/bin/ksh
   

   The user and group IDs must be unique within the NIS domain. Failure to keep IDs unique may prevent files from being moved between directories. This is because the system will respond as if the directories are owned by two different users. Also, file ownership may become confused when an NFS server exports a directory to an NFS client whose password file contains users with user IDs that match those of different users on the NFS server.

3. Having updated the passwd, shadow, and (if required) group input files, build and propagate the maps using the following commands if the input files are in /etc/:
   
   cd /var/yp
   ./ypbuild passwd
   ./ypbuild group

   If the input files for the maps are in /var/yp, use the following commands:
   
   cd /var/yp
   ./ypbuild passwd DIR=/var/yp
   ./ypbuild group DIR=/var/yp

4. Update the passwd and group files on the NIS client machines that the user will use. Usually, it is sufficient to add a ``+:'' line to the ends of both /etc/group and /etc/passwd. See ``Adding a user with an entry in the local passwd file'' and ``Preparing /etc/passwd'' for other styles of ``+'' entries that can be used with passwd.

5. Finally, ensure that the user's home directory is available on the NIS client machines that they will use. Follow the procedure in ``Adding a user without an entry in the local passwd file'' if you do not use NFS to mount the user's home directory from a remote machine.