This section provides an overview of the NetInfo command-line
utilities used in this chapter. The following sections, Section 3.7 and Section 3.8,
demonstrate how to use nicl,
nireport, nidump, and
niload. For more details on these or other
NetInfo utilities, see their respective
manpages.
Syntax
nidump [-T timeout] (-r directory|format) [-t] domain
Description
You can dump NetInfo information in a flat file format (such as the
/etc/hosts format) or in a raw format that uses
a C-like syntax:
{
"name" = ( "localhost" );
"ip_address" = ( "127.0.0.1" );
"serves" = ( "./local" );
}
Options
- -T timeout
-
Specifies a timeout in seconds.
- -t
-
Treats the domain as a tagged domain, which includes a machine name
and a tagged NetInfo database. For example,
abbot/local refers to the local NetInfo domain
of the machine named abbot.
- -r directory
-
Dumps the directory in raw format. Directory should be a path to a
NetInfo directory, such as /users/root or
/machines.
- format
-
Specifies a format corresponding to a Unix flat file of the same
name. Can be one of: aliases,
bootptab, bootparams,
ethers, exports,
fstab, group,
hosts, networks,
passwd, printcap,
protocols, resolv.conf,
rpc, services, or
mountmaps.
- domain
-
Specifies a NetInfo domain. For standalone machines, use a dot
(.), which refers to the local domain.
Syntax
nireport [-T timeout] [-t] domain directory [property ...]
Description
You can list all NetInfo groups by using the
nireport utility. To use
nireport, use the following syntax:
Options
- -T timeout
-
Specifies a timeout in seconds.
- -t
-
Treats the domain as a tagged domain, which includes a machine name
and a tagged NetInfo database.
- domain
-
Specifies a NetInfo domain.
- directory
-
Denotes a path to a NetInfo directory.
- property ...
-
Specifies one or more NetInfo properties. For example, each user
listed in the /users directory has
name, passwd,
uid, and gid properties (as
well as a few other properties). Every directory has a
name property that corresponds to the directory
name. For example, the /machines
directory's name property is
machines.
You can use nireport to list any portion of the
NetInfo directory. For example, to list the top-level directory,
specify the local domain, the / directory, and the
name property, as in nireport . /
name.
Syntax
niload [-v] [-T timeout] [(-d|-m)] [(-p|-P password)]
[-u user] {-r directory|format} [-t] domain
Description
niload reads the Unix flat file format from
standard input and loads it into the NetInfo database.
Options
- -v
-
Selects verbose mode.
- -T timeout
-
Specifies a timeout in seconds.
- -d
-
Specifies that if a duplicate entry already exists, NetInfo deletes
that entry before adding the new one. This can cause you to lose data
if NetInfo is tracking information that isn't
represented in the flat file. For example, if you dump the
/users directory to a flat
passwd file format and load it back in with
niload -d, you will lose the
picture, hint, and
sharedDir properties for every user on your
system, because the passwd file does not have a
field for those properties. Most of the time, the
-m option is what you want.
- -m
-
Specifies that if a duplicate entry already exists,
niload will merge the changes. So, if you dump
the /users directory to a flat
passwd file format, change a
user's shell, and load that file back in with
niload, NetInfo will keep the old shell. If you
use the -m option, NetInfo will accept the new
shell without the destructive side effects of the
-d option.
- -p
-
Prompt for a password. You can use this instead of prefixing the
command with sudo.
- -P password
-
Use the specified password.
WARNING:
If your shell history file is enabled, the
-P option presents a
security risk, since the password will be stored, along with the
history of other shell commands. It is best to avoid using this
option.
- -u user
-
Use the specified user's identity when running the
command. You'll be prompted for a password.
- -t
-
Treats the domain as a tagged domain, which includes a machine name
and a tagged NetInfo database.
- domain
-
Specifies a NetInfo domain.
- directory
-
Denotes a path to a NetInfo directory.
- format
-
Specifies a format corresponding to a Unix flat file of the same
name. Can be one of the following: aliases,
bootptab, bootparams,
exports, fstab,
group, hosts,
networks, passwd,
printcap, protocols,
rpc, or services.
Syntax
nicl [options] datasource [command]
Description
Use nicl to modify entries in the
NetInfo
database. You can manipulate directories and properties with
nicl. The datasource
may be the path to a NetInfo directory (such as
/ ) or the filesystem path of a NetInfo database
(you must use the -raw option for this). Use
-raw to work directly with the NetInfo database,
such as /var/db/netinfo/local.nidb. This is
useful in cases when the NetInfo daemon is down (such as when you
boot into single-user mode).
Options
- -c
-
Create a new data source.
- -p
-
Prompt for a password. You can use this instead of prefixing the
command with sudo.
- -P password
-
Use the specified password.
- -q
-
Be quiet.
- -raw
-
Indicates that the datasource is a
filesystem path to a NetInfo database.
- -ro
-
Open datasource as read-only.
- -t
-
Treats the domain as a tagged domain, which includes a machine name
and a tagged NetInfo database.
- -u user
-
Use the specified user's identity when running the
command. You'll be prompted for a password.
- -v
-
Be verbose.
- -x500
-
Use X.500 names (see the nicl manpage for more
details).
Commands
- -append path key val ...
-
Appends a value to an existing property. The property is created if
it does not already exist.
- -copy path newparent
-
Copies the specified path to a new parent
path.
- -create path [key [val ...] ]
-
Creates a NetInfo directory specified by
path. See Section 3.8.2, later in this chapter, for
a complete example.
- -delete path [key [val ...] ]
-
Destroys the specified path and all its contents. If you specify a
key and/or value, only the specified key is deleted. For an example,
see Section 3.7.5,
later in this chapter.
- -domainname
-
Prints the NetInfo domain name of
datasource.
- -flush
-
Flushes the directory cache.
- -insert path key val index
-
Operates like -append, but instead of placing
the value at the end, it inserts it at the specified index.
- -list path [key ...]
-
Lists all the NetInfo directories in the specified path. For example,
to list all users, use nicl / -list /users.
- -merge path key val ...
-
Operates like -append, but if the value already
exists, it is not duplicated. See Section 3.7.3, later in this chapter.
- -move path newparent
-
Moves the specified path to a new parent
path.
- -read path [key ...]
-
Displays all the properties of the specified path. For example, to
see root's properties, use
nicl / -read /users/root.
- -search arguments
-
Performs a search within the NetInfo database. For complete details,
see the nicl manpage.
- -rename path oldkey newkey
-
Renames a property.
- -resync
-
Resynchronizes NetInfo.
- -rparent
-
Prints the NetInfo parent of datasource.
- -statistics
-
Displays NetInfo server statistics.
