[ntp:questions] Befuddled and confused, again...

Dave Baxter spam at goes.nowhere.com
Sun Feb 14 17:21:46 UTC 2010


In article <_6ednYXJW52xiOXWnZ2dnUVZ_u2dnZ2d at supernews.com>, 
lausts at acm.org says...
> 
> On 2010-02-14, Dave Baxter <spam at goes.nowhere.com> wrote:
> > Hi All.
> >
> > Been trying (again) to setup a FreeBSD GPSDNTP server, as I want to use 
> > the currently used Win2k (With the Meinberg binary etc) box for 
> > something else, having found that running anything else "significant" on 
> > it, "distrubes" the NTPD system somewhat.  Nothing wrong with the 
> > Meinberg system (far from it in fact) it's just that I need that machine 
> > to replace an older PC that has finaly expired, so as I have another 
> > with no OS on it, I thought I'd go the FreeBSD route this time.
> >
> A good move!

> Trimmed things a bit...

Hi Tom.

All that I'm trying now, I have done successfully before, but for 
whatever reason it doesnt want to fly now.  Not sure if my notes are 
bad, DT's website, or the F-BSD docs are different now.

I *Need* PPS support, as I have an app that needs mS accruacy.  See:-
http://www.dxatlas.com/Faros/  for details of what I have running, that 
needs such data.   Plus, for whatever reason, my ISP (Demon/Thus/C&W) 
seem unable to provide a stable NTP service these days.

I have at present, a seperate Win2k machine, running the Meinberg port 
of NTPD and Dave Hart's serialPPS hack.  It works very well, even 
surviving Windows updates and a reboots etc!

Trouble is, I want that physical PC for something else, and as I had a 
"spare and empty" PC, I decided to revisit the FreeBSD version, after 
all, it only took me 2 days last time to get it going.

I've been at it (trying to get FreeBSD working again) this time for over 
3 weeks!  And am about to lob the thing out of the window.

I find that there is just way too much documentation spread all over the 
web etc, all poorly indexed (as a noob sees it at least.)  There also 
seems to be an assumption, that anyone looking at the info, already 
knows what they are looking at.  (This is not alone in that respect of 
course.)

One huge dificulty I have, is that I do not know how to get it to 
remember the "prompt =" settings, or that I use a UK keyboard!  I have 
to change those settings each and every boot at the moment.

I hear what you are saying re using a later version, but as I have the 
install CD's here for this, and it's purely for a local never-to-be-on-
the-web server, on a relatively low powered machine, unless someone says 
otherwise, and as I had it working before, I'd prefer at this time to 
stick with what I have.

Oh, you still didn't indicate the exact full path to the 'make.conf' 
file.  I know it's in /etc, but what directory should that spawn from?  
I don't have notes showing I had to create that file, only that I edited 
what was already there last time. (failing to make a record as to it's 
exact location I admit!)

As to the FreeBDS lists/forums etc.  Out of the 100's that there are, 
which one is recomended?  I've been on one or two recently, finding them 
somewhat "unfriendly to newbies".  Also, like many Linux lists, most 
people there don't know anything about what I'm asking, or want to do.  
On this list, being timekeeping related, some do, strangley.

Cheers Tom.

Dave B




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