NTP - default /etc/ntp.conf

[Doug Barton]

Frank Behrens wrote:
> Edwin Groothuis <edwin at freebsd.org> wrote on 5 Jun 2009 22:44:
>> After pondering at conf/58595, I came with this text.
>>
>> The ntpd is not enabled by default, so the fact that the servers
>> are commented out should not be an issue.
>> ...
>> +# server pool.ntp.org
>> +# server pool.ntp.org
>> +# server pool.ntp.org
> 
> Isn't it better to use different entries?
> server 0.pool.ntp.org
> server 1.pool.ntp.org
> server 2.pool.ntp.org
> 
> To be sure that the IP addresses are different.
> See
> http://www.pool.ntp.org/en/use.html

I agree with this suggestion, as well as the others about adding the
default restrictions and the fallback local clock. Bruce is right
about the ntp.drift file name, however we already have existing stuff
that mentions ntpd.drift, and since it's specified on the command line
in rc.conf the problems of what it says in the code are bypassed.

OTOH, we should use ntp.conf (no d) since that is what is referenced
in the man page for ntpd, and the man page for the conf file is
ntp.conf. (It's currently wrong in the Makefile in your patch.)

One more thing, it was said some time ago that due to a quirk in how
ntpd works on our system that adding the following to the server line
makes it work more efficiently:

server foo iburst maxpoll 9

If someone smarter than me could confirm that it would be great. :)


hth,

Doug

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