After some more experimentation, the problem appears to be the 'chsh' program/command.

With password working as "bobobo":
master.passwd:
user:0DLBug12YBlDY:1000:100::0:0:,,,:/home/user:/usr/pkg/bin/bash

After doing a chsh on the nis/yp client...
master.passwd:
user:*:1000:100::0:0:,,,:/home/user:/bin/sh

the file 'passwd' always has a "*" for a password for the user.

I get the same behavior on a 1.5 nis client, 1.5.1 nis client, and the 1.5 nis server.

It always says something like "# changing information in nis database" during the chsh vi, so I assume it's nis-aware.

The command "passwd" works correctly with nis on the same three clients.

(hopefully I haven't globally compromised my system by revealing my password was "bobobo".. I'll to change it back to "12345" now.)

Thanks again for any help..

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Hubert Feyrer" <hubert@feyrer.de>
To: <netbsd-help@netbsd.org>; "cpctc" <cpctc@vt.edu>
Cc: <mjl@netbsd.org>
Sent: Monday, September 17, 2001 3:03 PM
Subject: Re: NIS/yp/passwd not compatible 1.5 -> 1.5.1?


| In article <004601c13f7c$1b1b8ed0$172aadbf@rrinc.com> you wrote:
| > My nis/yp server is 1.5 and works fine with 1.5 clients. (everything is
| > i386)
| > 
| > I added a 1.5.1 client, and I'm able to log in, but if I do things that
| > check/change my password, like 'passwd' ('yppasswd') or 'chsh', it does
| > something that screws up my password on the server, and I'm no longer able
| > to login from any client.
| > 
| > I have to log in as root, do vipw, and change my password entry from
| > "...:*:..." to "...::..." (no pw), then set my password from a 1.5 machine.
| > 
| > Is this a known problem?  I don't see any mention of nis/yp or passwd in the
| > 1.5.1 or 1.5.2 release announcements.
| 
| Not sure, it *might* be related to login classes. Can you give more
| data here: what does the line look before you call yppasswd from the 1.5.1
| client, what does it look afterward? Please copy the full line each time,
| from both passwd and master.passwd.
| 
| 
|  - Hubert
| 
| -- 
| Want to get a clue on IPv6 but don't know where to start? Try this:
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| * Setup  -> http://www.onlamp.com/pub/a/onlamp/2001/06/01/ipv6_tutorial.html 
| Of course with your #1 IPv6 ready operating system -> http://www.NetBSD.org/
|