[ntp:questions] Seeking "net time" Response without Active Directory

gcatlin at ix.netcom.com gcatlin at ix.netcom.com
Fri Jan 4 03:57:35 UTC 2008


Martin, Danny, and Ryan, thank you for the suggestions.  The
punchclock software we use is pcEntry by Paychex.  Below are some
points that my original post overlooked.

1. We do have Windows servers; but our workstations, a combo of (a)
Win2000 with no firewall, (b) WinXP with the Windows Firewall and an
exception for 'File and Print Sharing,' and (c) a couple Vista boxes,
are not receiving a reply to "net time". It had been my understanding
that to receive a reply to "net time" required on a domain controller,
and we don't have any of them.

2. Our servers get the time from ntp sources, but it's my
understanding that being ntp-aware isn't enough to cause a Windows
workstation to receive a reply when they issue a "net time" query.

3. I did not know that if we enable samba on our Linux server we could
have our 'net time' requests replied to.  I'll try to figure out how
to do that.

4. The reason we need to continually synchronize our devices during
the day to a reliable time source is because we have devices with
internal clocks that drift +/- quite a bit during a workday.  The
people with the fast clocks wave 'goodbye' to those with the slow
clocks as they head out the door; the people with the slow clocks
grunt and blame the network administrator.  A hundred or so
workstations are involved; so various registry tweeks to increase the
frequency of the "Internet Time' in Control Panel 'Date and Time'
would be too much of a headache.

5. If we get "net time" to work, then all local stations (punchclocks)
should the same time, effectively locking down the time used for
punches. That would be good because someone was fired here a few years
ago for advancing their clock by an hour or so, punching out and
leaving.  We do not want to offer that temptation.

Glenn in NJ




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