[Next] [Previous] [Up] [Top] [Contents] [Index]
Chapter 2: Getting Started on a UNIX System
NIS (Network Information System) is a system that distributes information throughout a cluster. You may also know this by the name yellow pages.
Note that the word cluster, as used in this manual in reference to UNIX, is not the same as a VAX cluster. We define a UNIX cluster as a group of machines that share both a common password file (or user database), and a common file system, especially for login directories. NIS is usually used to provide the common password file, and the common file system is typically NFS or AFS.
NIS is installed on FNALU and many other UNIX clusters at Fermilab. In order to determine if NIS is running on your system, execute the command:
% domainname
If it returns a value, then NIS is running on your cluster. If no output is returned, then it is not. Many UNIX clusters use NIS to share a common login area across several machines. Note that it is possible for both AFS and NIS to be installed on a single system.