NetInfo is the system configuration
database in
NeXTSTEP and
Mac OS X versions up through
Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger". NetInfo replaces most of the
Unix system configuration files, though they are still present for running the machine in
single user mode; most Unix
APIs
Apis or APIS may refer to:
* Apis (deity), an ancient Egyptian god
* Apis (Greek mythology), several different figures in Greek mythology
* Apis (city), an ancient seaport town on the northern coast of Africa
**Kom el-Hisn, a different Egyptian ci ...
wrap around NetInfo instead. NetInfo stores system wide network-type configuration information, such as users and groups, in binary databases; while Mac OS X machine and application specific settings are stored as
plist files.
History
NetInfo was introduced in NeXTSTEP version 0.9, and replaced both the
Unix system configuration files and
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. (Sun for short) was an American technology company that sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services and created the Java programming language, the Solaris operating system, ZFS, the ...
'
Network Information Service (Yellow Pages) on NeXT computers. It immediately caused controversy, much unfavorable. Not only was NetInfo unique to
NeXT computers (although NeXT later licensed NetInfo to Xedoc, an Australian software company who produced NetInfo for other UNIX systems),
DNS
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information with domain names assigned to ...
queries went through NetInfo. This led to a situation where basic tasks such as translating a UNIX UID to a user name string would not complete because NetInfo was stalled on a DNS lookup. At first, it was possible to disable NetInfo and use the Unix system files, but as of NeXTSTEP version 2 disabling NetInfo also disabled
DNS
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical and distributed naming system for computers, services, and other resources in the Internet or other Internet Protocol (IP) networks. It associates various information with domain names assigned to ...
support. Thus, NeXT computers became notorious for locking a user out of everyday tasks because a DNS server had stopped responding.
The Mac OS X version of NetInfo remedied this (and many other problems), but due to the early problems, NetInfo never took over the world of Unix system configuration.
Apple has moved away from using NetInfo towards
LDAP, particularly in
Mac OS X Server Mac OS X v10.4 is the last version to support Netinfo. Beginning with
Mac OS X v10.5, Netinfo has been completely phased out and replaced by a new local search node named ''dslocal'', which files are located in /var/db/dslocal/ and are standard property list (XML-based) files.
Files
The NetInfo Database is stored in , and can only be accessed by
root. It can be viewed and modified through its
application programming interface
An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how t ...
, the
NetInfo Manager utility, or command line tools such as .
As Netinfo has been completely removed from Mac OS X 10.5, the Netinfo-based command line tools have also been phased out and replaced by other tools. Also, Netinfo Manager has been removed.
Data
Netinfo stores the following data:
* afpuser_aliases
* aliases
* exports (nfs shares)
* groups
* machines
* mounts
* networks
* printers
* protocols
* rpcs
* services
* users
See also
*
Apple Open Directory
References
External links
NetInfo man page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Netinfo
MacOS
NeXT
Directory services