NIS & NIS+ to LDAP Migration

Many legacy Unix environments still rely on NIS or NIS+ for user authentication and name services, but both lack encryption, hierarchical structure, and modern access controls. Zwiegnet specializes in smooth, low-risk migrations from NIS and NIS+ to contemporary LDAP directories while maintaining compatibility across Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, and other Unix systems.

We handle the complete migration lifecycle:

• Assessment & Planning – Inventory of NIS maps or NIS+ tables (passwd, group, netgroup, auto.home, hosts, etc.), client configurations, and dependency analysis.
• Data Export & Transformation – Extraction from NIS (ypcat/makedbm) or NIS+ (niscat/nisaddent), conversion to LDIF format, and schema mapping (RFC2307, RFC2307bis, or custom).
• LDAP Directory Setup – Deployment of OpenLDAP or 389 Directory Server with appropriate schema, indexes, overlays (memberOf, ppolicy, refint), and hierarchical DIT design.
• Client Migration – Reconfiguration of nsswitch.conf, PAM, SSSD on Linux; Solaris name service switch and pam_ldap; handling NIS+ credential migration where applicable.
• Parallel Operation – Co-existence strategies allowing NIS/NIS+ and LDAP to run side-by-side during transition with automatic fallback.
• Security Enhancements – TLS/STARTTLS encryption, SASL authentication, fine-grained access control lists (ACI), and password policy enforcement.
• Automount & Netgroup Migration – Conversion of auto.* maps to LDAP automountMap and netgroups to nisNetgroup objects.
• High Availability – Multi-master LDAP replication (syncrepl or MMR), load balancing, and failover configurations.
• Testing & Validation – Parallel authentication testing, user login verification across platforms, and automated regression checks.
• Cutover & Decommissioning – Phased rollout, final switchover, and safe shutdown of NIS/NIS+ services with rollback plan.
• Post-Migration Support – Ongoing LDAP administration, monitoring, and integration with other services (Samba, Kerberos, DNS).

Benefits include encrypted traffic, centralized hierarchical management, improved scalability, and a solid foundation for future integrations (e.g., Active Directory bridging or FreeIPA).

Located between Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin since 2009 — direct, personal service with proven NIS/NIS+ to LDAP migration experience across heterogeneous Unix environments.