Ian,
  Finally figured it out, simply put:

auto.master

/-      yp:auto.linux

auto.linux

/some_mount_directory/example                   server:/nfs_export

works.  However if the yp map is changed to

/example                  server:/nsf_export

it fails.  The error in the messages file aren't very helpful in figuring this simple error out. 

Will the next version (5) work more like the Sun automounter? I know in our case we are moving off of standard
Unix to Linux due to support being dropped for our main platform (HP-UX) for our CAD software vendors.

What I am seeing with indirect mounts and ghosting is that the only directories visible in the mount directory
are directories that are mounted or been mounted but won't show the directories never mounted, examples:

Before any mounts:

ls -la /proj
total 8
drwxr-xr-x   2 root root    0 Sep 27 14:02 .
drwxr-xr-x  29 root root 4096 Sep 27 14:01 ..

ls /proj/some_directory
file1 file2 directory1 directory2 etc..

ls -la /proj
total 12
drwxr-xr-x   3 root   root    0 Sep 27 14:03 .
drwxr-xr-x  29 root   root 4096 Sep 27 14:01 ..
drwxrwxr-x   9 root root  4096 Nov  3  2005 some_directory

Well after the 60 second timeout
ls -la /proj
total 12
drwxr-xr-x   3 root   root    0 Sep 27 14:03 .
drwxr-xr-x  29 root   root 4096 Sep 27 14:01 ..
drwxrwxr-x   9 root root  4096 Nov  3  2005 some_directory

This directory holds over 100 subdirectories that the user can't see and can only be accessed if
they know the name of the subdirectory.

Thanks,
Dana


Ian Kent wrote: 
On Tue, 2006-09-26 at 14:02 -0400, Dana Wellen wrote:
  
Hello,

   Trying to setup a simple direct map using nis and the autofs automounter:

automount -V
Linux automount version 4.1.3-67
    

This version is way to old.
Update it.

  
/etc/auto.master

/-      yp:auto.linux


ypcat -k auto.linux

/proj server2:/vol/proj/xx_proj
    

Nop.
There are an number of limitations with direct mounts in version 4.
Single level direct mounts is one.

  
This is documented in the readme file in 
/usr/share/doc/aufofs-4.1.3/README.direct

When the autofs is started or restarted in the /var/log/messages I get :

automount[25461]: cache_ghost: entry in yp:auto.linux not valid map 
format, key /proj

If I use indirect mounts it works however direct mounts would be a lot 
easier for my users in that
they will be able to see the directories in the mounted directory.  The 
ghost function doesn't work
well because it will only show the mounted directories or the 
directories that have been mounted
since the last restart of the autofs.
    

That's not correct.

  
  If I copy the file to the /etc directory it still has a similar error.
    

Huh ????

  
aufofs-4.1.3/README.direct
-- For example if we were using NIS we might have something like
the map entries below.

In the master map:

/-      autofs.global

and in autofs.global:

/nfs/apps/mozilla       bogus:/usr/local/moxilla
/nfs/data/budgets       tiger:/usr/local/budgets
/tst/sbin               bogus:/usr/sbin

and so on.
    

Note that the RedHat package has a config entry that disables direct
mounts by default because of the limitations.

Change it if you wish to try using them (in /etc/sysconfig/autofs).

Ian

--