OPS335 NIS Lab

NIS (Network Information Services)

NIS server is used to synchronize files between machines. In this lab you will set up your Fedora PC as both an NFS and NIS server. You will then sue your VM's to serve as your NFS and NIS clients.

PART A: Setting up your NFS Server

Prerequisites
Before you begin make sure your Fedora 16 host and virtual machines are up to date (yum update).

Ensure both host and VM's have firewalls set up according to prior labs. And ensure you are using your learnid account (the first user created - this will be critical for success).

Ensure that your nfs server is running on the host and exporting the '/home' directory.

PART B: Setting up your NIS Server

Install the NIS server and client onto your f16 host PC

 yum install ypserv ypbind

Add the following line to the bottom of the file /etc/sysconfig/network

 NISDOMAIN="<learn-id>.org"
 YPSERV_ARGS="-p 783"

Edit the file /etc/yp.conf and set up your domain:

 domain <learn-id>.org server 127.0.0.1

Edit the file /etc/nsswitch.conf and add "nis" to three lines:

 passwd:     files nis
 shadow:     files nis
 group:      files nis

Create the file /var/yp/securenets:

 host 127.0.0.1
 255.255.255.0   192.168.x.0

Enable and start the NIS (ypserv) service.

systemctl start ypserv.service
systemctl enable ypserv.service

Enable and start the NIS map transfer (ypxfrd) service.

systemctl start ypxfrd.service
systemctl enable ypxfrd.service

Verify that your servers are running correctly with the following command:

 rpcinfo -p

Now change to directory /var/yp and run this command

 make

Enable and start the NIS binding (ypbind) service.

systemctl start ypbind.service

You may need to enable another boolean relating to NIS.

getsebool -a | grep yp

Use the following command to verify your NIS server is working - you should see joker's password record.

 ypcat passwd

Add a new user named nis-user, with password "ops335".
Run 'ypcat passwd' again.
In order for the new user to show up you will need to recreate the map files- change directory to /var/yp and run the "make" command again.
Now modify your firewall so that the VM's (client vm03 initially) will be able to access your NIS server. You will need to adjust your firewall - use netstat to determine what ports will be needed.

PART C: Setting up your VM to be an NFS client

If you still have autofs installed (from last week) then uninstall it (yum remove autofs).
Reboot your VM guest machine, login and use ifconfig to determine its IP address.
Log out of your VM guest.
From your Fedora host, ssh (as root) into your VM guest.
Edit your guest's /etc/fstab file and insert this line

 192.168.122.1:/home  /home  nfs  defaults  0 0

Use the "mount -a" command to mount the /home directory.
Check that /home is mounted by running and recording the output of the "df -Th" command.
Install ypbind
Logout of your VM guest.

PART D: Setting up your VM to be an NIS client

Open your VM guest graphical login window and login as joker.
Verify that joker is using the /home directory imported from your Fedora host.
Now modify your authentication to include NIS. You can do this by selecting System->Administration->Authentication from the GNOME menu. You'll have to set the following:

 NIS server address (192.168.122.1)
 NIS domain name (example.org)

Now start the ypbind server with the command "service ypbind start".
Test your configuration with the "ypcat passwd" command. You should see both joker's and clown's password records. NOTE: Clown's record is coming from your Fedora host because there is no clown user on your VM guest.
Logout of joker and login as clown on your VM. NOTE: You may have to login as "other" if clown's name does not show up on the login screen.

Completing the Lab

Answer the following questions.

What is your full name and 9-digit Seneca student ID?
What is the function of the /etc/nsswitch.conf file?
What is the purpose of the "-p" option to the rpcinfo command?
Explain, in your own words, what the "make" command did in PART B step 10.
Explain the syntax/meaning of the two records in the /var/yp/securenets file.
What was the output of the "ypcat passwd" command from PART D, step 5?
Explain, in your own words, the function of the portmapper service as seen in the "rpcinfo -p" command. Hint: Use Wikipedia.
What did your final firewall on the host look like. Use iptables-save.

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