[ntp:questions] Disappointing results from ntpd

David Woolley david at ex.djwhome.demon.co.uk.invalid
Sun Aug 10 16:20:12 UTC 2008


Daniel Norton wrote:
> Any idea why I'm frequently seeing my system drift off by over 750
> ms ? This system has been running ntpd for weeks without configuration
> changes.  Below is from a few minutes after stuffing ntpdate down its
> throat (after stopping and restarting ntpd):

That's the wrong sequence.  ntpd must not be running when you set the 
time with ntpdate, and, unless you use the -b option, should not be 
started until the slew has completed.

> 
> # ntpdate -q

This does not set the time.

> 
> server 0.us.pool.ntp.org prefer minpoll 11 maxpoll 13

minpoll is too high.  This will result in large excursions before the 
loop converges, and after transients.  It may not even be possible to 
get convergence at all.  minpoll should normally not be more than the 
default value of 6.  Your minpoll is higher than the default maxpoll!

Please try not specifying minpoll and maxpoll.  If you still have a 
problem, come back.




More information about the questions mailing list