Look for the ypserv and ypbind processes. If the server's ypbind daemon is not running, start it using the instructions in Starting and Stopping the NIS Daemons . If a ypserv process is running, issue the ypwhich command on the NIS server machine. If this command returns no answer, the ypserv daemon is probably hung and should be restarted. Stop and restart the ypserv daemon by following the instructions in Starting and Stopping the NIS Daemons .
Some commands limp along in a backup-strategy mode particular to the program involved.
Some commands or daemons crash with error messages or no message at all. These symptoms usually indicate that your ypbind daemon is not running. You can use the ps -ef command to check for one. If you do not find a ypbind daemon, start it by following the instructions in Starting and Stopping NIS Daemons . If the ypbind daemon repeatedly crashes immediately after it is started, you should look for a problem in some other part of the system.