diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 47a3fa04ae..23df9a3545 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+2019-08-16  Carlos O'Donell  <carlos@redhat.com>
+
+	* nss/nsswitch.conf: Expand comments, and simplify defaults.
+	* manual/nss.texi (NSS Basics): List all known databases.
+	(Services in the NSS configuration): Mention automount.
+
 2019-08-15  Florian Weimer  <fweimer@redhat.com>
 
 	nptl: Move pthread_attr_init implementation into libc.
diff --git a/manual/nss.texi b/manual/nss.texi
index 164ae33246..2d5aecd487 100644
--- a/manual/nss.texi
+++ b/manual/nss.texi
@@ -56,13 +56,17 @@ functions to access the databases.
 @noindent
 The databases available in the NSS are
 
+@cindex aliases
 @cindex ethers
 @cindex group
+@cindex gshadow
 @cindex hosts
+@cindex initgroups
 @cindex netgroup
 @cindex networks
-@cindex protocols
 @cindex passwd
+@cindex protocols
+@cindex publickey
 @cindex rpc
 @cindex services
 @cindex shadow
@@ -75,16 +79,22 @@ Ethernet numbers,
 @comment @pxref{Ethernet Numbers}.
 @item group
 Groups of users, @pxref{Group Database}.
+@item gshadow
+Group passphrase hashes and related information.
 @item hosts
 Host names and numbers, @pxref{Host Names}.
+@item initgroups
+Supplementary group access list.
 @item netgroup
 Network wide list of host and users, @pxref{Netgroup Database}.
 @item networks
 Network names and numbers, @pxref{Networks Database}.
-@item protocols
-Network protocols, @pxref{Protocols Database}.
 @item passwd
 User identities, @pxref{User Database}.
+@item protocols
+Network protocols, @pxref{Protocols Database}.
+@item publickey
+Public keys for Secure RPC.
 @item rpc
 Remote procedure call names and numbers.
 @comment @pxref{RPC Database}.
@@ -96,8 +106,8 @@ User passphrase hashes and related information.
 @end table
 
 @noindent
-There will be some more added later (@code{automount}, @code{bootparams},
-@code{netmasks}, and @code{publickey}).
+@c We currently don't implement automount, netmasks, or bootparams.
+More databasess may be added later.
 
 @node NSS Configuration File, NSS Module Internals, NSS Basics, Name Service Switch
 @section The NSS Configuration File
@@ -159,6 +169,10 @@ these files since they should be placed in a directory where they are
 found automatically.  Only the names of all available services are
 important.
 
+Lastly, some system software may make use of the NSS configuration file
+to store it's own configuration for similar purposes.  Examples of this
+include the @code{automount} service which is used by @code{autofs}.
+
 @node Actions in the NSS configuration, Notes on NSS Configuration File, Services in the NSS configuration, NSS Configuration File
 @subsection Actions in the NSS configuration
 
diff --git a/nss/nsswitch.conf b/nss/nsswitch.conf
index 39ca88bf51..f553588114 100644
--- a/nss/nsswitch.conf
+++ b/nss/nsswitch.conf
@@ -1,20 +1,69 @@
+#
 # /etc/nsswitch.conf
 #
-# Example configuration of GNU Name Service Switch functionality.
+# An example Name Service Switch config file. This file should be
+# sorted with the most-used services at the beginning.
 #
+# Valid databases are: aliases, ethers, group, gshadow, hosts,
+# initgroups, netgroup, networks, passwd, protocols, publickey,
+# rpc, services, and shadow.
+#
+# Valid service provider entries include (in alphabetical order):
+#
+#	compat			Use /etc files plus *_compat pseudo-db
+#	db			Use the pre-processed /var/db files
+#	dns			Use DNS (Domain Name Service)
+#	files			Use the local files in /etc
+#	hesiod			Use Hesiod (DNS) for user lookups
+#	nis			Use NIS (NIS version 2), also called YP
+#	nisplus			Use NIS+ (NIS version 3)
+#
+# See `info libc 'NSS Basics'` for more information.
+#
+# Commonly used alternative service providers (may need installation):
+#
+#	ldap			Use LDAP directory server
+#	myhostname		Use systemd host names
+#	mymachines		Use systemd machine names
+#	mdns*, mdns*_minimal	Use Avahi mDNS/DNS-SD
+#	resolve			Use systemd resolved resolver
+#	sss			Use System Security Services Daemon (sssd)
+#	systemd			Use systemd for dynamic user option
+#	winbind			Use Samba winbind support
+#	wins			Use Samba wins support
+#	wrapper			Use wrapper module for testing
+#
+# Notes:
+#
+# 'sssd' performs its own 'files'-based caching, so it should generally
+# come before 'files'.
+#
+# WARNING: Running nscd with a secondary caching service like sssd may
+# 	   lead to unexpected behaviour, especially with how long
+# 	   entries are cached.
+#
+# Installation instructions:
+#
+# To use 'db', install the appropriate package(s) (provide 'makedb' and
+# libnss_db.so.*), and place the 'db' in front of 'files' for entries
+# you want to be looked up first in the databases, like this:
+#
+# passwd:    db files
+# shadow:    db files
+# group:     db files
 
-passwd:		db files
-group:		db files
-initgroups:	db [SUCCESS=continue] files
-shadow:		db files
-gshadow:	files
-
-hosts:		files dns
-networks:	files dns
-
-protocols:	db files
-services:	db files
-ethers:		db files
-rpc:		db files
-
-netgroup:	db files
+# In alphabetical order. Re-order as required to optimize peformance.
+aliases:    files
+ethers:     files
+group:      files
+gshadow:    files
+hosts:      files dns
+initgroups: files
+netgroup:   files
+networks:   files dns
+passwd:     files
+protocols:  files
+publickey:  files
+rpc:        files
+shadow:     files
+services:   files
