[ntp:questions] Re: uk pool problem

Richard B. Gilbert rgilbert88 at comcast.net
Wed Aug 30 14:26:02 UTC 2006


Danny Mayer wrote:
> Richard B. Gilbert wrote:
> 
>>Is there an ntpd equivalent to ntpdate -du <server address>?
>>
> 
> 
> ntpd -gq
> 
> with optional -c conffile if you don't want to use your default config
> file. Make sure you have iburst on the server lines and don't bother
> with either multicasting or broadcasting.
> 
> Danny
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> 

Danny,

I don't think that's equivalent!!

ntpdate -du  does NOT set the clock, it merely reports what it would 
have done had it been asked to set the clock.  That's the -d.  The -u 
causes it to use an unprivileged port so you can run it while ntpd is 
running.  Those options are useful for getting a peek at a server's 
notion of the correct time without configuring the server or affecting 
your clock in any way.

It's clearly possible for an otherwise sane server to produce an insane 
reply.  The case in point was easily detectable by looking at your 
calendar but this is the first such case I've encountered in something 
like three years of following this newsgroup.




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