ntpd on FreeBSD-11 source:

[Shamim Shahriar]

On 28 Dec 2016 3:11 p.m., "James B. Byrne via freebsd-questions" <
freebsd-questions at freebsd.org> wrote:

On FreeBSD-11.0 when I see this:

# ntpd -V
/usr/sbin/ntpd: illegal option -- V
ntpd - NTP daemon program - Ver. 4.2.8p9

# which ntpd
/usr/sbin/ntpd

But I also see this on the same system:

pkg which $(which ntpd)
/usr/sbin/ntpd was not found in the database

# pkg info ntp
pkg: No package(s) matching ntp

and yet:

# pkg search ntp
. . .
ntp-4.2.8p9                    The Network Time Protocol Distribution
. . .

So, where does the ntpd I am running come from if not from a package
or port?  AND if it does, as I believe it must, come from the port
packages then why is it not reported by 'pkg info' and its program
file not listed in the port database?

--
***


Hi James

I'm assuming (please correct me if I'm wrong) you are more familiar with
Linux based systems, hence the confusion. BSDs follow different philosophy
-- that dictates (to some extent, and I'm rephrasing) that anything that is
required for a stable running of a system needs to be part of the base
system. So, in most BSDs, you will find utilities like NTP, sendmail, drill
(alternate to dig), and many other tools built into the base. BSDs in
general divide the system into base and userland -- base has most of the
things you need for a stable system, anything extra you need/want you get
from package/ports. Also, simply because it is in the base doesn't mean you
are restricted to it, you can always install the item from ports if it
offers features you need/want. Another example is bind -- which is in the
base but programmes like samba required features that were not available on
the base but were available from ports (do not know current/latest status),
so people installed it and used it from the ports tree.

Just a hint that you might find useful along the way, all base systems are
in root (like /bin, /lib, /usr/include) whereas things from ports are under
/use/local (like /use/local/bin, /use/local/lib, /use/local/include and so
on). Generally that is a good preliminary indication as to the source of
where it is from (unlike other trending operating systems :P, or you
haven't inadvertently installed them in the wrong location).

Hope this helps.
Have fun!