ypbind does not start on boot

[John Sopko]

root@tophat:/tmp# lsb_release -rd
Description: Ubuntu 12.04 LTS
Release: 12.04

root@tophat:/var/tmp# apt-cache policy nis
nis:
  Installed: 3.17-32ubuntu4
  Candidate: 3.17-32ubuntu4
  Version table:
 *** 3.17-32ubuntu4 0
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/universe amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

On reboot the ypbind process does not start. After reboot initctl shows
it is running but there is no running process. If you stop/start it then
it works as shown here:

root@tophat:/var/tmp# ypwhich
ypwhich: Can't communicate with ypbind

root@tophat:/tmp## status ypbind
ypbind start/running

root@tophat:/tmp# start ypbind
start: Job is already running: ypbind

root@tophat:/tmp# stop ypbind
ypbind stop/waiting

root@tophat:/tmp# start ypbind
ypbind start/running, process 2400

root@tophat:/var/tmp# ypwhich
fafnir.cs.unc.edu

Here is the ypbind syslog entries after booting:

May 2 09:05:19 tophat kernel: [ 16.320371] init: ypbind main process (819) terminated with status 1
May 2 09:05:19 tophat kernel: [ 16.320441] init: ypbind main process ended, respawning
May 2 09:05:24 tophat kernel: [ 21.587347] init: wait-for-state (atdypbind) main process (1074) killed by TERM signal
May 2 09:05:24 tophat kernel: [ 21.588998] init: wait-for-state (autofsypbind) main process (1086) killed by TERM signal
May 2 09:05:24 tophat kernel: [ 21.590407] init: wait-for-state (lightdmypbind) main process (1148) killed by TERM signal

I did a ps -elf in /etc/rc.local and saved to a file, it shows this:

rc.local ran
Wed May 2 09:05:20 EDT 2012
F S UID PID PPID C PRI NI ADDR SZ WCHAN STIME TTY TIME CMD
4 S root 1 0 6 80 0 - 5679 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:01 /sbin/init
1 S root 2 0 0 80 0 - 0 kthrea 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kthreadd]
1 S root 3 2 0 80 0 - 0 run_ks 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [ksoftirqd/0]
1 S root 4 2 0 80 0 - 0 worker 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kworker/0:0]
5 S root 5 2 2 80 0 - 0 worker 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kworker/u:0]
1 S root 6 2 0 -40 - - 0 cpu_st 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [migration/0]
5 S root 7 2 0 -40 - - 0 watchd 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [watchdog/0]
1 S root 8 2 0 -40 - - 0 cpu_st 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [migration/1]
1 S root 9 2 0 80 0 - 0 worker 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kworker/1:0]
1 S root 10 2 0 80 0 - 0 run_ks 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [ksoftirqd/1]
1 S root 11 2 0 80 0 - 0 worker 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kworker/0:1]
5 S root 12 2 0 -40 - - 0 watchd 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [watchdog/1]
1 S root 13 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [cpuset]
1 S root 14 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [khelper]
5 S root 15 2 0 80 0 - 0 devtmp 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kdevtmpfs]
1 S root 16 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [netns]
1 S root 17 2 0 80 0 - 0 worker 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kworker/u:1]
1 S root 18 2 0 80 0 - 0 bdi_sy 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [sync_supers]
1 S root 19 2 0 80 0 - 0 bdi_fo 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [bdi-default]
1 S root 20 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kintegrityd]
1 S root 21 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kblockd]
1 S root 22 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [ata_sff]
1 S root 23 2 0 80 0 - 0 hub_th 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [khubd]
1 S root 24 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [md]
1 S root 25 2 0 80 0 - 0 worker 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kworker/1:1]
1 S root 26 2 0 80 0 - 0 watchd 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [khungtaskd]
1 S root 27 2 0 80 0 - 0 kswapd 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kswapd0]
1 S root 28 2 0 85 5 - 0 ksm_sc 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [ksmd]
1 S root 29 2 0 99 19 - 0 khugep 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [khugepaged]
1 S root 30 2 0 80 0 - 0 fsnoti 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [fsnotify_mark]
1 S root 31 2 0 80 0 - 0 ecrypt 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [ecryptfs-kthrea]
1 S root 32 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [crypto]
1 S root 40 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kthrotld]
1 S root 41 2 0 80 0 - 0 scsi_e 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [scsi_eh_0]
1 S root 42 2 0 80 0 - 0 scsi_e 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [scsi_eh_1]
1 S root 43 2 0 80 0 - 0 worker 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kworker/u:2]
1 S root 44 2 0 80 0 - 0 worker 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kworker/u:3]
1 S root 63 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [devfreq_wq]
1 S root 64 2 0 80 0 - 0 worker 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kworker/0:2]
1 S root 104 2 0 80 0 - 0 worker 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kworker/1:2]
1 S root 204 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kdmflush]
1 S root 212 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kdmflush]
1 S root 219 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kdmflush]
1 S root 233 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kdmflush]
1 S root 242 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kdmflush]
1 S root 250 2 0 80 0 - 0 kjourn 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [jbd2/dm-2-8]
1 S root 251 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [ext4-dio-unwrit]
5 S root 267 1 2 80 0 - 24845 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/plymouthd --mode=boot --attach-to-session
1 S root 269 2 0 80 0 - 0 bdi_wr 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [flush-252:2]
1 S root 440 1 3 80 0 - 4306 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 upstart-udev-bridge --daemon
5 S root 443 1 2 80 0 - 3886 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 466 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 468 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 469 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 470 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 471 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 472 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 473 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 474 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 475 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 476 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 477 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 478 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 479 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 480 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 481 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 488 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 489 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 490 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 491 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 492 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 498 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 499 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 500 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 501 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 502 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 503 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 504 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 505 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 506 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 538 443 0 80 0 - 3852 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 541 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 542 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 543 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
5 S root 544 443 0 80 0 - 3885 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
1 S root 553 2 0 80 0 - 0 kjourn 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [jbd2/dm-3-8]
1 S root 554 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [ext4-dio-unwrit]
1 S root 555 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kpsmoused]
1 S root 580 2 0 80 0 - 0 kjourn 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kjournald]
5 S root 674 1 0 80 0 - 4797 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 rpcbind -w
1 S root 675 2 0 80 0 - 0 kjourn 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [jbd2/dm-4-8]
1 S root 676 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [ext4-dio-unwrit]
1 S root 738 1 0 80 0 - 3795 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 upstart-socket-bridge --daemon
1 S root 743 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [hd-audio0]
1 S root 775 2 0 80 0 - 0 kjourn 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kjournald]
1 S root 802 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [rpciod]
4 S root 816 1 0 80 0 - 11442 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /usr/sbin/sshd -D
1 S root 817 2 0 60 -20 - 0 rescue 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [nfsiod]
5 S 102 832 1 4 80 0 - 5496 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 dbus-daemon --system --fork --activation=upstart
1 S root 836 1 0 80 0 - 4800 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 rpc.idmapd
0 S root 838 1 0 80 0 - 1098 wait 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /bin/sh -e /proc/self/fd/9
4 S root 856 1 1 80 0 - 4837 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 plymouth-upstart-bridge
4 S root 865 1 1 80 0 - 19759 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /usr/sbin/modem-manager
5 S root 867 1 0 80 0 - 5295 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /usr/sbin/bluetoothd
5 S syslog 884 1 2 80 0 - 60782 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 rsyslogd -c5
5 S root 889 1 2 80 0 - 38371 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 NetworkManager
5 S avahi 894 1 0 80 0 - 7522 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 avahi-daemon: running [tophat.local]
1 S avahi 901 894 0 80 0 - 7522 unix_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 avahi-daemon: chroot helper
4 S root 907 1 1 80 0 - 46646 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /usr/lib/policykit-1/polkitd --no-debug
4 S root 918 1 3 80 0 - 25104 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /usr/sbin/cupsd -F
1 S root 927 2 0 80 0 - 0 afs_pa 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [afs_pagecopy]
5 S root 930 2 0 70 -10 - 0 rfcomm 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [krfcommd]
5 S statd 931 1 0 80 0 - 5374 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 rpc.statd -L
4 S colord 945 1 10 80 0 - 83302 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/colord/colord
5 S root 951 1 0 80 0 - 1698 afs_os 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /sbin/afsd -afsdb -dynroot -fakestat
1 S root 958 2 0 80 0 - 0 afs_os 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [afs_rxevent]
1 S root 959 2 0 80 0 - 0 afs_cv 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [afs_callback]
1 S root 960 2 0 80 0 - 0 worker 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kworker/1:3]
1 S root 961 2 0 80 0 - 0 wait_f 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [afs_rxlistener]
1 S root 969 2 0 80 0 - 0 afs_os 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [afsd]
1 S root 975 2 0 80 0 - 0 afs_os 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [afs_background]
1 S root 976 2 0 80 0 - 0 afs_os 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [afs_background]
1 S root 977 2 0 80 0 - 0 afs_os 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [afs_background]
1 S root 978 2 0 80 0 - 0 worker 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kworker/1:4]
1 S root 979 2 0 80 0 - 0 afs_os 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [afs_background]
1 S root 980 2 0 80 0 - 0 worker 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [kworker/1:5]
1 S root 981 2 0 80 0 - 0 afs_os 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [afs_checkserver]
0 S root 1017 1 0 80 0 - 1098 wait 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /bin/sh /etc/init.d/rc 2
4 S root 1019 1 0 80 0 - 2421 n_tty_ 09:05 tty4 00:00:00 /sbin/getty -8 38400 tty4
4 S root 1027 1 0 80 0 - 2421 n_tty_ 09:05 tty5 00:00:00 /sbin/getty -8 38400 tty5
4 S root 1036 1 0 80 0 - 2421 n_tty_ 09:05 tty2 00:00:00 /sbin/getty -8 38400 tty2
4 S root 1040 1 0 80 0 - 2421 n_tty_ 09:05 tty3 00:00:00 /sbin/getty -8 38400 tty3
4 S root 1044 1 0 80 0 - 2421 n_tty_ 09:05 tty6 00:00:00 /sbin/getty -8 38400 tty6
0 S root 1045 1 0 80 0 - 3807 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 start wait-for-state WAITER=atd WAIT_FOR=ypbind WAIT_STATE=running
0 S root 1049 1 0 80 0 - 3807 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 start wait-for-state WAITER=autofs WAIT_FOR=ypbind WAIT_STATE=running
5 S nrpe 1058 1 0 80 0 - 5843 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /usr/sbin/nrpe -c /etc/nagios/nrpe.cfg -d
1 S root 1061 1 0 80 0 - 1113 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 acpid -c /etc/acpi/events -s /var/run/acpid.socket
1 S root 1068 1 0 80 0 - 3193 hrtime 09:05 ? 00:00:00 cron
5 S root 1069 1 0 80 0 - 3992 hrtime 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /usr/sbin/irqbalance
1 S whoopsie 1072 1 1 80 0 - 44791 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 whoopsie
0 S root 1074 1 0 80 0 - 1098 wait 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /bin/sh -e /proc/self/fd/9
0 S root 1086 1 0 80 0 - 1098 wait 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /bin/sh -e /proc/self/fd/9
4 S lp 1099 918 0 80 0 - 14609 hrtime 09:05 ? 00:00:00 cups-polld kohola.cs.unc.edu 631 30 631
4 S lp 1100 918 0 80 0 - 14609 hrtime 09:05 ? 00:00:00 cups-polld clownfish.cs.unc.edu 631 30 631
4 S lp 1101 918 0 80 0 - 13032 pipe_w 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /usr/lib/cups/notifier/dbus dbus://
0 S root 1102 1074 0 80 0 - 1075 hrtime 09:05 ? 00:00:00 sleep 30
0 S root 1113 1086 0 80 0 - 1075 hrtime 09:05 ? 00:00:00 sleep 30
1 S root 1135 2 0 80 0 - 0 afs_os 09:05 ? 00:00:00 [afs_cachetrim]
0 S root 1137 1 0 80 0 - 1098 wait 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /bin/sh -e /proc/self/fd/9
0 S root 1141 1 0 80 0 - 3807 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 start wait-for-state WAITER=lightdm WAIT_FOR=ypbind WAIT_STATE=running
0 S root 1148 1 0 80 0 - 1098 wait 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /bin/sh -e /proc/self/fd/9
0 S root 1159 1148 0 80 0 - 1075 hrtime 09:05 ? 00:00:00 sleep 30
0 S root 1169 838 0 80 0 - 1075 hrtime 09:05 ? 00:00:00 sleep 1
0 S root 1176 1137 0 80 0 - 1075 hrtime 09:05 ? 00:00:00 sleep 3
4 S root 1227 1 0 80 0 - 4691 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /usr/lib/postfix/master
4 S postfix 1230 1227 0 80 0 - 6269 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 pickup -l -t fifo -u -c
4 S postfix 1231 1227 0 80 0 - 6282 ep_pol 09:05 ? 00:00:00 qmgr -l -t fifo -u
4 S root 1259 1 0 80 0 - 3776 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /usr/sbin/sshguard -i /var/run/sshguard.pid -l /var/log/auth.log -w /etc/sshguard/whitelist -a 60 -p 420 -s 1200 -b 600
5 S ntp 1287 1 0 80 0 - 6838 poll_s 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /usr/sbin/ntpd -p /var/run/ntpd.pid -g -u 117:126
0 S root 1440 1 0 80 0 - 1098 wait 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /bin/sh /etc/init.d/ondemand background
0 S root 1441 1017 0 80 0 - 1098 wait 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /bin/sh /etc/rc2.d/S99rc.local start
0 S root 1444 1440 0 80 0 - 1075 hrtime 09:05 ? 00:00:00 sleep 60
0 S root 1445 1441 0 80 0 - 1098 wait 09:05 ? 00:00:00 /bin/sh /etc/rc.local
4 R root 1447 1445 0 80 0 - 2235 - 09:05 ? 00:00:00 ps -elf

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: nis 3.17-32ubuntu4
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-24.37-generic 3.2.14
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-24-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: openafs
ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu7
Architecture: amd64
Date: Wed May 2 09:07:13 2012
ProcEnviron:
 LANGUAGE=en_US:
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_US
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: nis
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
mtime.conffile..etc.yp.conf: 2010-04-20T14:46:11

[John Sopko (sopko)]

I confirmed this bug on 4 systems. Here is the output from /var/log/upstart/ypbind.log:

Setting NIS domainname to: sunrize
No NIS server and no -broadcast option specified.
Add a NIS server to the /etc/yp.conf configuration file,
or start ypbind with the -broadcast option.
Binding to YP server .....backgrounded

During boot it thinks there is no nis server in yp.conf.
If i put a sleep statement at the bottom of the /etc/init/ypbind.conf pre-start script section,
its seems to work.

I have to crank the sleep to 10 seconds to get it to work.

[John Sopko (sopko)]

So the network is taking a really long time to come up using DHCP. I found that the
entry in /etc/network/interfaces had the iface eth0 inet dhcp entry commented out
as shown below. If I un-comment the "iface etho inet dhcp" entry things work, the
network comes up fast and ypbind starts. It appears NetworkManager is commenting out the line.
and it is taking a long time for it to bring up the interface.

------- /etc/network/interfaces file

# This file describes the network interfaces available on your system
# and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5).

# The loopback network interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

# The primary network interface
auto eth0
#NetworkManager#iface eth0 inet dhcp

[John Sopko (sopko)]

The problem is with NetworkManager. If the system boots with ifup and DHCP ypbind starts fine.
That is uncomment the iface etho line in /etc/network/interfaces and make sure the following entry is in /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf so that NetworkManager does not control the interface:

[ifupdown]
managed=false

[Scott Moser (smoser)]

John,
  Based on your good information in the comments, I'm marking this as invalid.
  If you think that there is something that could be done to fix this situation, please explain and set the bug to 'New'.
  Thank you for your time.
  Scott

[John Sopko (sopko)]

This may help if you have this issue with ypbind trying to start and the network not up yet:

Use IP addreses in /etc/yp.conf

for example:

domain your_nis_domain server 10.10.123.123

If the network is not up, ypbind starts and cannot reslove the hostname in yp.conf and dies.
If you supply an IP address it will start and bind when the network is up.

[Ernst Kloppenburg (ernst-kloppenburg)]

it is an error for ypbind to not start correctly when the network interface is managed by network-manager and thus comes up a bit slowly

of course, changing the configuration to not rely on network-manager, as explained in comment #3 is a workaround

still i would consider this a bug: the management of the dependency of nis on a working network interface is not correctly done

[Jason Hildebrand (jason-opensky)]

I do not believe this is a NetworkManager issue.

My interfaces file says:

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

and my /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf says:
[main]
plugins=ifupdown,keyfile
dns=dnsmasq

[ifupdown]
managed=false

However I still have this exact same issue as reported above: after booting ypwhich says "ypwhich: Can't communicate with ypbind", and it works after I restart ypbind.

[Hugh Caley (hcaley-9)]

I am, for some reason, now getting ypbind and autofs working on boot up by adding restarts for both services to /etc/rc.local. Sometimes I have to wait a while before logging in for it to work. No idea what has changed.

[Steve Heckman (steve-heckman)]

I worked around this by putting the server name and IP address into /etc/hosts.

My network initialization is static.

managed=false was already set.

Looks like a DNS issue?

[KrautOS (krautos)]

It's still an issue in the upcoming LTS release. We really need to fix it, as there are still a lot of company where they run a secured NIS installations.

As it's somehow an DNS issue, there should be something like a respawn from upstart everytime there is a network change. What i also experienced is that doesn't make a difference i we change for "YPBINDARGS=-no-dbus" to "YPBINDARGS=" in "/etc/default/nis", as this is ypbind's connection to NM.

[KrautOS (krautos)]

After some more testing, it's definitely a DNS issue on probably early boot stages without network. So there are two ways to workaround:

1. Only use IP addresses in /etc/yp.conf
2. Add your NIS server to /etc/hosts

I am using the later one on Ubuntu 14.04.

But i still don't why ypbind will skips if it can't resolve the server name, but keeps on running when it probably can't connect the server yet? And no i don't want to have static IPs in all clients as i quite trust my DHCP servers and i always prefer FQDN for network migrations.