passwd/NIS/ and /etc/passwd

From: Neil R. Smith <neils_at_ariel.met.tamu.edu>
Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 15:44:33 -0500

Tru64 5.1A PK 6
NIS (plain)

I thought that if you had a user passwd entry in /etc/passwd like:
  +username::0:0::/wh/username:/usr/local/bin/tcsh

and final /etc/passwd entries:
  +:*:0:0:::
  +:

that you needed to use 'yppasswd' to change the NIS password but if
you used 'passwd', the new password would be inserted into the
password field of /etc/passwd, which the system would consult first
for user authentication.

But that isn't the case on our 5.1A system. The 'passwd' command effects
a change in the NIS database and nothing is inserted in the password
field of /etc/passwd.

What am I missing here?

Thanks,
-Neil

-- 
Neil R. Smith, Comp. Sys. Mngr.		neils_at_tamu.edu
Dept. Atmospheric Sci., Texas A&M Univ.	979/845-6272 FAX:979/862-4466

Received on Wed Jul 21 2004 - 20:46:25 NZST