Marco Molteni wrote:
Say I have a network with no access to the internet, and I have no
external time reference (no GPS or atomic or whatever clock available).
I am using the NTP reference implementation ntpd on FreeBSD.
The network is composed of 3 hosts: A, B and C.
I know I can tell NTP to use the local clock as a time reference, what
is called an "Undisciplined Local Clock" in the NTP documentation.
Say I don't know if a clock is better than the other, so by configuring
B and C to use A as server I risk to have a not so good time if A is
unreliable.
Can I configure A,B,C to peer with each other in a meshed fashion, so
to have each clock influenced by all the others? From what I read I
should use the following configuration file on each host:
========== /etc/ntp.conf ======
server 127.127.1.0
peer hostA
peer hostB
peer hostC
==================
would it work? Is it the best way to obtain the "best" time assuming
I don't know if a clock is better than another?
thanks
marco
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If you care about the CORRECT time, this configuration is an almost
certain loser! There is a White Paper available from Sun Microsystems
that claims this configuration will synchronize all the systems to the
same time. See http://www.sun.com/blueprints. The paper is entitled
"Using NTP to Control and Synchronize System Clocks and can be
downloaded in three parts. It's by David Deeths and Glenn Brunette.
You'll find a brief reference to the synchronization of an isolated
network of peers on page 7 of part one. I have not tried this
configuration and cannot attest that it actually works.
To find the best clock, set all three to the correct time using your
cellular phone if available or your wristwatch if not. The cell phone
display shows only hours and minutes but the rollover of the minute
should be accurate to within a few microseconds. If you have fast
reflexes you should be able to set the time to within one second. Let
the three systems run for a few days and check the clocks. The one
closest to the correct time should have the best clock. Typical
computer clocks can gain or lose two to four minutes per month so don't
expect too much.
If you want the correct time, invest in a GPS receiver. I've heard of
suitable receivers available in the $80-$90 US range. I bought a
Motorola receiver specifically designed for timing applications for $200
US. I keep one of my Sun Ultra 10 workstations synchronized to within
ten microseconds or better with it. This receiver is just a bare
circuit board, a wall-wart, and an antenna. If you wish, you can pay
thousands of dollars for one in a fancy case with built-in NTP server
but it's not necessary.
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