Re: some questions about the configuration

[Guillaume Rousse <Guillaume.Rousse@inria.fr>]

Jeff Moyer wrote:
> Guillaume.Rousse> OK, I understand they have different nature, so they
> Guillaume.Rousse> can't have the exact same naming scheme. But if auto.smb
> Guillaume.Rousse> and auto.smb are exemple, they should not get installed,
> Guillaume.Rousse> and especially not among configuration files whereas they
> Guillaume.Rousse> are executables programs.
> 
> Guillaume.Rousse> I'd rather have called ldap.master.map, smb.user.map and
> Guillaume.Rousse> net.user.map, or something similar, and have them
> Guillaume.Rousse> installed in the same place.
> 
> You can modify auto.net or auto.smb to suit your needs.  In that sense,
> they are user-configurable automounter maps, and belong with the other
> maps.  I understand that autofs configuration is a bit overwhelming, and
> the documentation is lacking.  Perhaps we should focus on improving the
> documentation.
This does still look like a poor hack: if they are supposed to be 
adaptable to specific user needs, they should use a configuration file. 
And if the not flexible enough, be kept as exemples in congifuration, 
not installed by default (especially if not automatically used).

And yes, documentation could get improved :)

>>>The master map and the maps that are contained in the master map have a
>>>different syntax.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>Second, it's not clear why ldap and nis use are triggered from the
>>>>content of /etc/nsswitch.conf, while smb and net (simple rpcinfo
>>>>listing) use are triggered from content of /etc/auto.master. Shouldn't
>>>>all those syntax be available from both locations?
>>>
>>>
>>>Master vs client maps again.
> 
> Guillaume.Rousse> According to my init script understanding, however, it
> Guillaume.Rousse> seems you can't refer to LDAP user maps from
> Guillaume.Rousse> /etc/auto.master, whereas you can refer to NIS user maps
> Guillaume.Rousse> from there, using a syntax such as '+foobar', which is
> Guillaume.Rousse> not documented in auto.master man page.
> 
> Your understanding is wholly incorrect.  The following web sites are good
> references that I use frequently.  I hope they are helpful to you.
> 
> http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/805-3479/6j3agk1v5?q=autofs&a=view
> http://docs.sun.com/app/docs/doc/816-0211/6m6nc66nc?a=view
> http://www.ldapguru.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=2029&forum=6
Thanks for the explanation, I understand better. Let me rephrase:
- it is possible to refer to additional NIS master map from 
/etc/auto.master, using a syntax not described in auto.master man page.
- it is not possible to do the same with ldap
Is this more correct ?


BTW, the default init script is quite ugly, it calls catnismap with each 
additional NIS master map each time a line is found beginning with '+'.

I'd suggest instead something as:
if [ -f /etc/auto.master ] ; then
         awk '/^[^#]/{print $0}' /etc/auto.master | (
         while read line
         do
             if [[ "$line" == +* ]]; then
                 catnismap ${line:1}
             else
                 echo $line
             fi
         done
         )
fi
It uses bash-specific constructs, but this is a bash script after all.
-- 
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