Solaris Operating System
NIS+ End-of-Feature (EOF) Announcement FAQ
Technical QuestionsQ: What is the status of NIS+ for the Solaris 9 Operating System?
A:
NIS+ is a mature and stable naming service. Sun's customers have indicated a preference for using IETF standards for naming services based on Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP). Sun is indicating formally that there are plans for NIS+ to be removed sometime after the Solaris 9 release, however, removal will not occur in the next release of Solaris. As of January, 2004, Sun has decided to include all NIS+ features in the next major release of Solaris.
Q: Does this mean that customers will no longer be able to use NIS+?
A:
No. Customers can continue to use NIS+ in the Solaris 9 Operating System. NIS+ will be
included in all the Solaris 9 updates. Customers are still encouraged to migrate to using
Native LDAP authentication via the pam_ldap(5) module and the Sun Java System Directory
Server v5.1, which is integrated in the Solaris
9 Operating System. The Directory Server incorporates the latest technology and is
based on LDAP standards. Additionally, Solaris
9 includes enhancements to the NIS+ service that allow customers to migrate their data to an
LDAP compatible server while continuing to
offer NIS+ servers to clients.
Q: Will customers still be able to obtain support for NIS+ in the Solaris 9 release?
A:
Customers who have support contracts will continue to get support through normal channels. Support typically continues to be available for 5
years from the actual removal of the feature. NIS+ feature removal has not occurred and will not occur in the Solaris 10 OS. Thus, support for NIS+
continues through the Solaris 10 OS lifetime, subject to future changes.
Q: What does the EOF announcement mean to customers?
A:
Complete migrations from one naming service to another take time and planning. By announcing the EOF well in advance of the actual removal of NIS+, Sun is giving customers time to plan and the tools to execute their migrations. The EOF announcement means that there will be no more feature enhancements to NIS+ and that the functionality may be removed in a future update. As of January, 2004, Sun has decided to include all NIS+ features in the next major release of Solaris. Tools to facilitate migration from NIS+ to LDAP are available as part of the Solaris 9 Operating System.
Q: What is the future plan for NIS?
A:
Through products and services Sun is enabling customers to make the transition to LDAP based naming services. NIS remains a supported naming service in Solaris 9. For customers wanting to migrate to Native LDAP, the NIS service in Solaris 9 12/03 includes functionality to migrate data to an LDAP compatible server.
Q: Where can I find more information about Naming and Directory Services (DNS, NIS, and LDAP)?
A:
There is a Solaris system administration guide dedicated to Naming and Directory Services. Chapter 19 of this guide covers transitioning from NIS+ to LDAP.
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