NIS domain
An NIS domain defines the group of computers sharing
configuration information.
An NIS domain consists of a single host serving as the master
server of the domain and all of the nonmaster NIS servers
and NIS clients who rely on that
master for their configuration information.
While an NIS domain may consist of a list of hosts identical to those contained in an Internet, MMDF, or sendmail domain, an NIS domain is distinct from these others in purpose.
All NIS servers and clients within an NIS domain
store a common domain name.
This name is established during NIS initialization of the server
or client.
The domain name can also be set or displayed using the
domainname(NC)
command.
This domain name is used for authentication within NIS
and is used to name the directory within which each host
stores the NIS maps for that domain.
For example, maps for the literature domain are in the
/etc/yp/literature directory.