Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1
Accessing the Configuration repository
To obtain any configuration files specific to the Red Hat platform the configuration repository must first be made available.
To do this carry out the following steps
a) Create a mount point using the command
“mkdir –p /export/home/unixcfg”
b) Add an entry into the file /etc/fstab as shown below
mainfileserver.domain.local:/unixcfg - /export/home/unixcfg nfs -
yes user,bg,nosuid 0 0
c) Issue the command “mount –a” which should mount the new file system entry added in the previous step.
You can ignore messages pertaining to filesystems that are already mounted
d) You should now be able “cd” to the /export/home/unixcfg/
NIS configuration
To configure the system as a NIS client use the authconfig utility
WARNING. The authconfig utility re-writes the /etc/nsswitch.conf
file with values that are not appropriate for the environment. If there
is ever a need to rerun the authconfig utility be sure carry out the
following step to enter correct settings in nsswitch.conf
Nameservice switch configuration
Redhat Linux uses the /etc/nsswitch.conf file to control name
service lookups. It is necessary to use a specific version of this file
as detailed below.
Copy the name service configuration file (nsswitch.conf) into the /etc
directory from the Redhat directory of the configuration file
repository
Set up “/export/home/users” directory NFS mount
Most users’ home directories will be on the main file server. Carry out
the configuration actions below to enable users to access their home
directories automatically
a) Create the /export/home/users mountpoint using the command
“mkdir –p /export/home/users” Note that any “local” contents of the
directory “/export/home/users” will not be visible once this file
system is mounted. Therefore check that “/export/home/users” contains
no data at this time.
If it does take steps to preserve or delete it.
b) Add an entry into the file /etc/fstab as shown below
mainfileserver.domain.local:/users /export/home/users nfs rw,soft,bg,intr 0 0
c) Issue the command “mount –a” which should mount the new file system entry added in the previous step.
You can ignore messages pertaining to filesystems that are already mounted
d) You should now be able “cd” to the/export/home/users directory. The individual user directories should be visible
e) If the directory /home exists create a softlink in this directory pointing to /export/home/users as shown below
#ln –s /export/home/users /home/users
Set up the main file server “/export/home/hg1” NFS mount
Several key directories are mapped to the “U” drive on the NAS
server. To enable their use it is necessary to map the NAS server “U”
drive to the “/export/home/hg1” NFS mounted filesystem as shown below
a) Create the /export/home/hg1 mountpoint using the command “mkdir –p /export/home/hg1”
b) Add an entry into the file /etc/fstab as shown below
mainfileserver.domain.local:/homegroup1 /export/home/hg1 nfs rw,soft,bg,intr 0 0
c) Issue the command “mount –a” which should mount the new file system entry added in the previous step.
You can ignore messages pertaining to filesystems that are already mounted
d) Ensure that if the directory “/export/home/group1” exists that its contents are either unneeded or saved.
e) Create a soft link for /export/home/group1 and /home/group1 pointing to /export/home/hg1/
#ln –s /export/home/hg1/osf4 /home/group1
#ln –s /export/home/hg1/osf4 /export/home/group1
f) You should now be able “cd” to the /home/group1 directory.
Set up “/export/home/source” directory NFS mount
The source directory is on the main file server. This must be mounted on the /export/home/source directory
a) Create the /export/home/source mountpoint using the command “mkdir –p /export/home/source” Note that any “local” contents of the directory “/export/home/source” will not be visible once this file system is mounted. Therefore check that “/export/home/source” contains no data at this time. If it does take steps to preserve or delete it.
b) Add an entry into the file /etc/fstab as shown below
mainfileserver.domain.local:/source /export/home/source nfs rw,soft,bg,intr 0 0
c) Issue the command “mount –a” which should mount the new file system entry added in the previous step. You can ignore messages pertaining to filesystems that are already mounted.
d) Create a softlink to point /home/source at /export/home/source as shown below #ln –s /export/home/source /home/source
Set up “/export/home/qatests” directory NFS mount
The qatests directory is on the main file server. This must be mounted on the /export/home/source directory
a) Create the /export/home/qatests mountpoint using the command “mkdir –p /export/home/qatests” Note that any “local” contents of the directory “/export/home/qatests” will not be visible once this file system is mounted. Therefore check that “/export/home/qatests” contains no data at this time. If it does take steps to preserve or delete it
b) Add an entry into the file /etc/fstab as shown below mainfileserver.domain.local:/qatests /export/home/qatests nfs rw,soft,bg,intr 0 0
c) Issue the command “mount –a” which should mount the new file system entry added in the previous step. You can ignore messages pertaining to filesystems that are already mounted
d) Create a softlink to point /home/qatests at /export/home/qatests as shown below #ln –s /export/home/qatests /home/qatests
Set up “/export/home/hg1output” directory NFS mount
The qaoutput directory is on the main file server. This must be mounted on the /export/home/source directory
a) Create the /export/home/hg1output mountpoint using the command “mkdir –p /export/home/hg1output”
b) Add an entry into the file /etc/fstab as shown below mainfileserver.domain.local:/qaoutput /export/home/hg1output nfs rw,soft,bg,intr 0 0
c) Issue the command “mount –a” which should mount the new file system entry added in the previous step. You can ignore messages pertaining to filesystems that are already mounted
d) Create a soft link for /export/home/group1/output and /home/group1/output pointing to /export/home/hg1output/
#su build $ln –s /export/home/hg1output/osf4 /export/home/group1/output
Set up “/export/home/unixcfg” directory NFS mount
The unixcfg directory area is on the main file server. This must be mounted on the /export/home/unixcfg directory
a) Create the /export/home/unixcfg mountpoint using the command “mkdir –p /export/home/unixcfg”
b) Add an entry into the file /etc/fstab as shown below mainfileserver.domain.local:/unixcfg /export/home/unixcfg nfs rw,suid,soft 0 0
c) Issue the command “mount –a” which should mount the new file system entry added in the previous step. You can ignore messages pertaining to filesystems that are already mounted
Crypt vs MD5 passwords
By default Redhat AS 2.1 uses md5 passwords whereas the default for NIS is to use the less secure crypt algorithm. It is not necessary to disable the use of MD5 on the Redhat server as the Redhat NIS PAM seems to assume that NIS will use crypt. Similarly the option to use MD5 rather than crypt should not be enabled on the SFU NIS server as this will break other Unix platforms that cannot use MD5
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