[ntp:questions] Re: Why ntpd is losing out to openntp at BSD

David L. Mills mills at udel.edu
Thu Oct 14 23:58:12 UTC 2004


Wolfgang,

As I said, I would absolutely adore a SNTP version that is well written, 
strictly conformant to the SNTP spec and open source. The SNTP client 
version now included with the NTPv4 is not such a program, but I have 
been bushwhacked about putting it in the distribution anyway. There 
should be independent versions of NTPv4 and SNTPv4 open source 
distributions available via archives, preferable at ISC.

However, it is absolutely necessary to conform in every way to the 
published specifications and conditions of use. After the Netgear 
incident the folks at U Wisconsin, Netgear and I rewrote rfc2030 with 
strict rules of engagement. It was our hope this would hit the streets 
ASAP and we could send the Protocol Police after any freeboaters. The 
RFC was dropped on the RFC Editor's desk over twelve months ago, but has 
not yet survived the standards process.

As for the repo churn, your comments are deserved for the beta and 
snapshot versions, but the release version has just had its first birthday.

Dave

Wolfgang S. Rupprecht wrote:

> Peter Hessler <phessler at theapt.org> writes:
> 
>>I use OpenNTPD on my time server, and I am off by 0.027525 seconds at this
>>time.  Except for the initial sync, I am never off by more than 0.05
>>seconds.
> 
> 
> I wonder if they fixed something in a the last few weeks.  One of my
> net neighbors runs a -current open-nntpd and he is usually 200ms off
> of real time.  All this on an enhanced DSL line.
> 
> His server also claims to be stratum-2 whether it is synchronized to
> some high-numbered stratum or not.  Darn annoying.
> 
> -wolfgang




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