Question : Authenticating a linux workstation user to a linux server

This question has already been asked before, but I was hoping for more clarity.  I have a lab full of edubuntu machines.  Now I'm trying to set them up to login to the server, not local.  I don't want to have to add 100+ students to each workstation.  The other answer was about using NIS.  I have done searches on NIS and have not come up with any tutorials or instructions on what has to be done to the server and the workstations to make the login on the workstation go to the server.

If anyone has links to tutorials on this, please let me know.  I need this lab up and going this week -- yikes.

Thanks and best regards,
Kari M.

Answer : Authenticating a linux workstation user to a linux server

To setup NIS, you need to setup NIS server(master) first, then the NIS client for every Ubuntu machines.
 
The NIS is not on Ubuntu CD, you need to download via Synaptic, which is the software search/download tool on Ubuntu.

Then follow some instruction provided by Ubuntu to setup the NIS client.

For setup NIS server on Ubuntu,
1. make sure all the accounts have created on the NIS server (/etc/passwd, /etc/shadow, /etc/group)
2. Make sure in /etc/hosts have the following line
127.0.0.1   localhost
3. Initialize NIS
sudo apt-get install portmap nis
4. Edit “/etc/default/portmap”
ARGS=”-i 127.0.0.1”
5. Edit “/etc/default/nis”
NISSERVER = master
6. Edit “/etc/yp.conf”
domain domainname server  <=== The NIS server name
7. Edit "/var/yp/Makefile”, make sure "PWDIR=/etc" or the place you put the password file
8. Run the following commands:
sudo /usr/lib/yp/ypinit -m
sudo /etc/init.d/portmap restart
sudo /etc/init.d/nis restart
sudo make -C /var/yp

For Ubuntu NIS client:
1. Edit "/etc/hosts" and add
 
If you don't setup DNS or in case DNS is not working
2. sudo apt-get install portmap nis
3. Edit “/etc/hosts.allow”
portmap : “Server NFS” “address IP"
  where NFS server is the students' home directory server.
4. Edit /etc/passwd and add
+::::::
5. Edit /etc/group and add
+:::
6. Edit /etc/shadow and add
+::::::::
7. Edit /etc/nsswitch.conf to make sure
hosts:  files dns nis
8. Edit /etc/yp.conf
domain domainname server
9.
sudo /etc/init.d/nis restart

For more details, you can check the following URLs:
NIS how-to:
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/NIS-HOWTO/index.html
or if you can read French:
http://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/serveur/nis