[ntp:questions] Disable the local refclock by default? (Was: Re: ntpdate removal is coming)

Dave Hart hart at ntp.org
Mon Dec 19 23:09:34 UTC 2011


On Mon, Dec 19, 2011 at 19:19, Harlan Stenn <stenn at ntp.org> wrote:
> I'm thinking that for 4.2.8 (and 4.2.7-RSN) it might make sense to
> disable the local refclock by default, as most folks *should* be using
> orphan mode instead, and with all of the problems caused by the
> inappropriate use of the local refclock this change will give folks an
> opportunity to fix their configs (or just enable the driver and
> reinstall, or just ignore the warning at ntp startup).

The LOCAL driver causes less trouble in 4.2.7 than in earlier versions
-- unless marked prefer, it is treated as a backup-only source,
unreachable as long as other sources survive.

Orphan mode does provide a better alternative for keeping a flock of
machines in sync when normal sources are lost, but that's not the only
use case for the LOCAL driver.  Our efforts would better be directed
at educating those shipping ntp.conf files including LOCAL by default.

Cheers,
Dave Hart


More information about the questions mailing list