[ntp:questions] Re: My Setup..

[Richard B. Gilbert]

Ted Gervais wrote:

> Wondering if someone couldcomment on the result of my 'ntpq -p' query.
> I need to know ifI am gettingclose to a reasonable setup and am wondering
> among otherthings  if thereshould be more '*' lines or willthere only 
> ever be one '*' line and the rest would be '+' lines???
> 
> Does this make any sense?
> 
> I have both '*', '+' and '-' lines.  I believe the '*' line is for 
> actually being connected to a server, and I think the '+' means 
> something like  it can be reached but is waiting its turn to interact 
> with my system.  And finally I believe the '-' lines mean that those 
> servers can't be reached???
> 
> Is any of this right??

Not much.   The "*" means that the indicated server has been selected as 
the primary synchronization source.  There will never be more than one 
"*" unless something is seriously broken.  "+" means that a server is a 
candidate for selection. "-" means that the indicated server is not a 
candidate.  "x" means that the indicated server is considered "insane"

For the sordid details of how it works, see:
http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~mills/database/brief/arch/arch.pdf
under the heading "Clock Select Principles"

The above URL is part of a large collection of documentation.  It's all 
worth looking at at least once.