Manual Pages for UNIX Operating System command usage for man nscd

System Administration Commands                           nscd(1M)



NAME
     nscd - name service cache daemon

SYNOPSIS
     /usr/sbin/nscd [-f configuration-file] [-g] [-e cachename, yes
      | no] [-i cachename]


DESCRIPTION
     The nscd daemon is a process that provides a cache for  most
     name   service   requests.  The  default  configuration-file
     /etc/nscd.conf determines the behavior of the cache  daemon.
     See nscd.conf(4).


     nscd provides caching for the passwd(4), group(4), hosts(4),
     ipnodes(4),  exec_attr(4),  prof_attr(4), user_attr(4), eth-
     ers(4), rpc(4),  protocols(4),  networks(4),  bootparams(4),
     auth_attr(4),  services(4),  netmasks(4),  printers(4), pro-
     ject(4) databases through standard libc interfaces, such  as
     gethostbyname(3NSL),               getipnodebyname(3SOCKET),
     gethostbyaddr(3NSL), and others. The shadow file is specifi-
     cally  not  cached.  getspnam(3C) calls remain uncached as a
     result.


     Each cache has a separate  time-to-live  for  its  data.  By
     default,   modifying   the   local   database   (/etc/hosts,
     /etc/passwd, and so  forth)  causes  that  cache  to  become
     invalidated upon the next call to nscd.


     If  resolv.conf(4)  or  nsswitch.conf(4)  is  modified  (the
     file's  modified-timestamp  changes), it causes nscd to res-
     tart, which effectively clears all caches. See nscd.conf(4).


     nscd also  acts  as  its  own  administration  tool.  If  an
     instance  of nscd is already running, commands are passed to
     the running version transparently.


     When   running   with   per-user   lookups   enabled    (see
     nscd.conf(4)),  nscd  forks  one  and only one child process
     (that is, a per-user nscd) on behalf of the user making  the
     request.  The  per-user nscd will use the credentials of the
     user to open a per-user connection to  the  name  repository
     configured  for  the  per-user  style of lookups. The lookup
     will be performed in the  child  process.  The  results  are
     cached  in  the  process  and are available only to the same
     user. The caches are managed exactly the same  as  the  main
     nscd daemon manages its own caches. Subsequent requests from



SunOS 5.11           Last change: 1 Jul 2010                    1






System Administration Commands                           nscd(1M)



     the user will be handled by that per-user nscd until it ter-
     minates.  The  per-user  nscd uses a configurable inactivity
     time-to-live (TTL) value and  terminates  itself  after  the
     inactivity TTL expires.


     The maximum number of per-user nscds that can be created  by
     the  main nscd is configurable (see nscd.conf(4)). After the
     maximum number of them are created, the main nscd  will  use
     an  LRU  algorithm  to  terminate less active child nscds as
     needed.


     The main nscd daemon creates, monitors, and manages all  the
     child nscds. It creates a user's own nscd upon receiving the
     user's first  per-user  lookup.  When  the  nscd  daemon  is
     started,  if  per-user  lookups  are  enabled,  it checks to
     ensure all conditions are met before getting ready to create
     a  per-user  nscd. When the daemon is stopped, it terminates
     all the per-user nscds under its control.


     Per-user nscds use the same configuration as the main  nscd.
     They read and use the same default configuration file or the
     one specified with the -f command line option. Once the con-
     figuration  is  read,  the per-user nscd will use it for its
     entire lifetime.

OPTIONS
     Several of the options described below require  a  cachename
     specification.  Supported  values for cachename are: passwd,
     group, hosts, ipnodes, exec_attr, prof_attr, user_attr, eth-
     ers,  rpc,  protocols, networks, bootparams, auth_attr, ser-
     vices, netmasks, printers, and project.

     -f configuration-file

         Causes nscd to read  its  configuration  data  from  the
         specified file.


     -g

         Prints current configuration and statistics to  standard
         output.  This  is the only option executable by non-root
         users.


     -e cachename, yes|no

         Enables or disables the specified cache.




SunOS 5.11           Last change: 1 Jul 2010                    2






System Administration Commands                           nscd(1M)



     -i cachename

         Invalidate the specified cache.


EXAMPLES
     Example 1 Stopping and restarting the nscd daemon.

       example# svcadm disable system/name-service-cache

       example# svcadm enable system/name-service-cache



FILES
     /etc/nscd.conf    Determines athe behavior of the cache dae-
                       mon


ATTRIBUTES
     See attributes(5) for descriptions of the  following  attri-
     butes:



     ____________________________________________________________
    |       ATTRIBUTE TYPE        |       ATTRIBUTE VALUE       |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|
    | Availability                | SUNWcs                      |
    |_____________________________|_____________________________|


SEE ALSO
     svcs(1),  svcadm(1M),   getspnam(3C),   gethostbyname(3NSL),
     getipnodebyname(3SOCKET),  auth_attr(4), bootparams(4), eth-
     ers(4), exec_attr(4), group(4), hosts(4), netmasks(4),  net-
     works(4),    nscd.conf(4),    nsswitch.conf(4),   passwd(4),
     printers(4),   prof_attr(4),    project(4),    protocols(4),
     resolv.conf(4),  rpc(4),  services(4),  user_attr(4), attri-
     butes(5)

NOTES
     The output from the -g option to nscd is subject to  change.
     Do not rely upon it as a programming interface.


     The nscd service is managed by the service management facil-
     ity, smf(5), under the service identifier:

       svc:/system/name-service-cache





SunOS 5.11           Last change: 1 Jul 2010                    3






System Administration Commands                           nscd(1M)



     Administrative actions on this service,  such  as  enabling,
     disabling,  or  requesting  restart,  can be performed using
     svcadm(1M). The service's status can be  queried  using  the
     svcs(1) command.



















































SunOS 5.11           Last change: 1 Jul 2010                    4