Name Service Switch

The Name Service Switch (NSS) is a facility in Unix-like operating systems that provides a variety of sources for common configuration databases and name resolution mechanisms. These sources include local operating system files (such as /etc/passwd, /etc/group, and /etc/hosts), the Domain Name System (DNS), the Network Information Service (NIS), and LDAP.

Read more about Name Service Switch:  Nsswitch.conf, History

Famous quotes containing the words service and/or switch:

    You had to face your ends when young
    ‘Twas wine or women, or some curse
    But never made a poorer song
    That you might have a heavier purse,
    Nor gave loud service to a cause
    That you might have a troop of friends.
    William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)

    Children ... after a certain age do not welcome parental advice. Occasionally, they may listen to another adult, which is why perhaps people should switch children with their neighbors and friends for a while in the teen years!
    Marian Wright Edelman (20th century)