Insider Tips: Network Time Protocol

ON THE DOT

Article from Issue 60/2005

Author(s): MARC ANDRÉ SELIG

Networks often require very accurate timekeeping. The Network Time Protocol provides the time with precision.

Any cheap watch will keep better time than the chips in modern computers. There are tricks to improve precision – for example, you can ascertain the deviation and calculate a correcting vector – but you’ll never find a real alternative to using the proper tools. Computers often learn the time from extremely accurate reference clocks. There are many options. A DCF77 receiver connected to the serial or USB port allows a computer to receive the time from a reference clock (Figure 1).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF

Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES

Print Issues

Digital Issues

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Print Subs

Digisubs

TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS

US / Canada

UK / Australia

Related content

Charly's Column – Precise Timekeeping

After the idea of procuring an atomic clock failed to thrill the other members of Charly's household, our intrepid columnist simply decided to tap into the timekeeping of a GPS satellite. In doing so, he ensured the kind of punctuality at home that only large data centers actually need. Precisely.

more »
Charly's Column

On vacation we may be happy just to check the position of the sun,but computers need a more accurate measure of time. Luckily, there are atomic clocks that can receive time signals by radio and off the Internet.

more »
chrony

The chrony implementation of the network time protocol provides an alternative to the familiar NTP daemon.

more »
Charly's Column: Ntpd

The Network Time Protocol keeps Charly up to date at all times. To put all of this punctuality in the service of the common good, he even exports the time signal.

more »
Tempus Fugit

Charly Kühnast, sys admin columnist for 15 years, is searching for lost microseconds.

more »