Finding NTP servers, Re: 5.1 RELEASE: clock running wild?

[Joe Koberg]

G. Panula wrote:

> Alex Povolotsky wrote:
>>
>> After upgrading to 5.1-Release I've mentioned that clock on server is 
>> running wild (about twice faster than all other world). I am not sure 
>>
>> What can I do besides downgrading back?
> 
> Run ntpd.  Pretty much just need two files; /etc/ntp.conf and 
> /etc/ntp.drift.
 > ...
> Your local ISP should have an ntp server that you can get the correct 
> time from.  Otherwise there is a list of public stratum 2 ntp servers 
> available at: http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~mills/ntp/clock2a.html


There is a better way to find NTP servers these days:

A. Quick and Dirty

	1. Add 3 separate "server pool.ntp.org maxpoll 12" lines
            to ntp.conf. Restart NTP. You're finished.

B. To find better NTP servers

	1. nslookup pool.ntp.org, which returns many addresses.

	2. add up to 20 addresses returned as "server xxx" lines to
            your ntp.conf

	3. Let NTP run for a few hours/days

	4. use ntpq(8) "peers" command to show the status of all
            those servers.

	5. Remove the servers that don't have a +, -, or * next to
            their name from the config file. Restart NTP.

This process uses NTP's built-in clock selection algorithm to find the 
best servers for your connection. There are currently over 80 public 
servers in the pool.

You may want to try <country>.pool.ntp.org, such as "us.pool.ntp.org". 
However not all countries are represented yet.

More info about pool.ntp.org:

	http://fortytwo.ch/time/



Joe Koberg
joe at osoft dot us