Publisher: O'Reilly, 1992, 410 pages
ISBN: 0-937175-75-7
Keywords: Networks, System Administration
What are NFS and NIS, and why do you need to manage them?
At many installations, the Network Filesystem (NFS) is the "glue" that holds together large, diverse collections of computers. It provides transparent access to files on many different computers using many different operating systems, from personal computers to mainframes. Using NFS, you can access files across the network as if they were your own. However, NFS is usually a "blck box" for most users and administrators. This book shows you what's in the box: how to plan a network filesystem, how to set it up, how to optimize its performance, how to plug security hole, and how to solve common problems like distributed mail management. It also discusses a number of special topics that you won't find elsewhere, including the BFS "automounter" (a facility for mounting and dismounting filesystems as they are used) and the widely-used PC-NFS. A number of books provide either a theoretical basis for NFS or simplified discussions of how to set up your network. This is the only book we know that covers NFS in depth. It links theory and practice, showing you in detail how to get the most out of your network.
If you have worked with a network, you are well aware that the complexity of managing a networek increases much faster than the number of nodes. This book shows you how to use the Network Information System (formerly called "Yellow Pages") to reduce the overhead of network administration. NIS provides a distributed database service that simplifies management of the most important administrative files, like the password and the hosts file. Without NIS, making a simple administrative change requires modifying these files on every system in the network. Once NIS is running, your can modify a single set of files on a "master server", and propagate your changes to the rest of the network. This book also tells you how to use NIS to develop your own distributed database applications, ranging from the simple (like an automated phone list) to the complex (a stock quotation service that uses an NIS database of "licensed" users).
This book provides the only comprehensive discussion of NFS and NIS available anywhere. If you are managing a network of UNIX systems, or are thinking of setting up a UNIX network, you can't afford to overlook it.
An excellent book about the subject.
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