NetInfo and UNIX: some background

Apple has updated to old KB articles that are worth reading if you want to learn more about how NetInfo Manager and UNIX interact:

30770: Mac OS X: What is Lookupd? "Relatively few processes communicate directly with NetInfo. Yet, many processes need information that resides in NetInfo. How do these processes get that information? They use an intermediary: lookupd. This article explains what lookupd is and what it does, and gives you some tips on spotting and fixing problems that involve it."

30760: Mac OS X Server: niutil Utility "This article will show you how to use niutil to manipulate a NetInfo database."