nisdefaults Command

Purpose

Displays the seven default values currently active in the namespace.

Syntax

nisdefaults [ -d domain ] [ -g group ] [ -h host ] [ -p principal ] [ -r access_rights ] [ -s search_path ] [ -t time_to_live ] [ -a all(terse) ] [ -v verbose ]

Description

The nisdefaults command displays the seven default values currently active in the namespace. To display NIS+ defaults the default values are either:

Preset values supplied by the NIS+ software
The defaults specified in the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable (if you have NIS_DEFAULTS values set)

Any object that you create on this machine will automatically acquire these default values unless you override them with the -D flag of the command you are using to create the object.

Setting Default Security Values

This section describes how to perform tasks related to the nisdefaults command, the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable, and the -D flag. The NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable specifies the following default values:

Owner
Group
Access rights
Time-to-live

The values that you set in the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable are the default values applied to all NIS+ objects that you create using that shell (unless overridden by using the -D flag with the command that creates the object).

You can specify the default values (owner, group, access rights, and time-to-live) specified with the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable. After you set the value of NIS_DEFAULTS, every object you create from that shell will acquire those defaults, unless you override them by using the -D flag when you invoke a command.

Displaying the Value of NIS_DEFAULTS

You can check the setting of an environment variable by using the echo command, as shown in the following example:

client% echo $NIS_DEFAULTS
owner=butler:group=gamblers:access=o+rmcd

You can also display a general list of the NIS+ defaults active in the namespace by using the nisdefaults command.

Changing Defaults

You can change the default access rights, owner, and group, by changing the value of the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable. Use the environment command that is appropriate for your shell (setenv for csh or $NIS_DEFAULTS=, export for sh and ksh) with the following arguments:

access=right, where right are the access rights using the formats described in Specifying Access Rights in Commands.
owner=name, where name is the user name of the owner.
group=group, where group is the name of the default group.

You can combine two or more arguments into one line separated by colons:

owner=principal-name:group=group-name

Changing Defaults—Examples

Tasks	Examples
This command grants owner read access as the default access right.	`client%` setenv NIS_DEFAULTS access=o+r
This command sets the default owner to be the user abe whose home domain is Wiz.com.	`client%` setenv NIS_DEFAULTS owner=abe.wiz.com.
This command combines the first two examples on one code line.	`client%` setenv NIS_DEFAULTS access=o+r:owner=abe.wiz.com.

All objects and entries created from the shell in which you changed the defaults will have the new values you specified. You cannot specify default settings for a table column or entry; the columns and entries simply inherit the defaults of the table.

Resetting the Value of NIS_DEFAULTS

You can reset the NIS_DEFAULTS variable to its original values, by typing the name of the variable without arguments, using the format appropriate to your shell:

For C shell:

client# unsetenv NIS_DEFAULTS

For Bourne or Korn shell:

client$ NIS_DEFAULTS=; export NIS_DEFAULTS

Flags

Item	Description
-d domain	Displays the home domain of the workstation from which the command was entered. Displays the value of /etc/defaultdomin environment variable.
-g group	Displays the group that would be assigned to the next object created from this shell. Displays the value of NIS_GROUP environment variable.
-h host	Displays the workstation's host name. Displays the value of uname -n environment variable.
-p principal	Displays the fully qualified user name or host name of the NIS+ principal who entered the nisdefaults command. Displays the value of gethostbyname() environment variable.
-r access_rights	Displays the access rights that will be assigned to the next object or entry created from this shell. Format: ——rmcdr—-r—-. Displays the value of NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable.
-s search_path	Displays the syntax of the search path, which indicate the domains that NIS+ will search through when looking for information. Displays the value of the NIS_PATH environment variable if it is set. Displays the value of NIS_PATH environment variable.
-t time_to_live	Displays the time-to-live that will be assigned to the next object created from this shell. The default is 12 hours. Displays the value of the NIS_DEFAULTS environment variable.
-a all (terse)	Displays all seven defaults in terse format. Displays the value of the environment variable.
-v verbose	Display specified values in verbose mode. Displays the value of the environment variable.

Note: You can use these options to display all default values or any subset of them.

Examples

To display all values in verbose format, type the nisdefaults command without arguments.

master% nisdefaults 
Principal Name : topadmin.wiz.com.
Domain Name    : Wiz.com.
Host Name      : rootmaster.wiz.com.
Group Name     : salesboss
Access Rights  : ----rmcdr---r---
Time to live   : 12:00:00:00:00
Search Path    : Wiz.com.

To display all values in terse format, add the -a option.
To display a subset of the values, use the appropriate options. The values are displayed in terse mode. For example, to display the rights and search path defaults in terse mode, type:
```
rootmaster% nisdefaults -rs
----rmcdr---r---
Wiz.com.
```
To display a subset of the values in verbose mode, add the -v flag.