[ntp:questions] Re: Correcting my time servers clock drift on Alpha ES40s / Tru64

Tom Smith smith at cag.zko.hp.com
Thu Oct 20 23:41:03 UTC 2005


Richard B. Gilbert wrote:
> brett.sander at tenix.com wrote:
> 
>> Any ideas how I can better configure these 2 servers to keep the clocks
>> [with the correct] time.  Also, whats the best method to update the time (I was just
>> going to use date to set the time)
>>
>> Another thing is these servers have no access to the internet at all.
>>
>>
> If you want those machines to keep the correct time, you will have to 
> supply correct time from an external source.   Most people use servers 
> from the internet.   Since you do not have an internet connection 
> available, you can either use a dial-up phone connection to NIST in 
> Boulder Colorado or in Gaithersburg Maryland (long distance charges will 
> probably make this impractical; even three or four calls per day will 
> add up quickly) or you can purchase a low cost GPS timing receiver.  
> ($80 -- $200 US).   If Digital did not build ntpd with support for 
> hardware reference clocks, you will need to get a copy of the reference 
> implementation and build it yourself.   Plug the GPS receiver into a 
> serial port, configure it, and those two systems should stay within a 
> few microseconds of UTC.  You will need to be able to site an antenna 
> where it will have an unobstructed view of the sky.

For the supported clock drivers for directly attached reference clocks, see
the man page for ntp.conf. You can also buy self-contained network-attached
time servers for which you need supply only supply an IP address and an antenna.

-Tom




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