Robert Dodier wrote: > Hello, > > I am working with embedded Linux systems (Gumstix) which appear to > lack > a persistent clock so whenever they are rebooted, their system clocks > go > back to January 1, 1970. I am hoping to use ntpd to set the clock on > these > systems but I am getting an unexpected result. > > When I run ntpd on the Gumstix, without the -g option it complains > that the > time difference between the local clock and the server is too great. > OK, I expected that. However, when I run it again with -g, ntpd > happily > makes a big adjustment in the local time ... changing it from 1970 to > 1939 for some reason. I tried a couple of different servers but got > the same > result. > > Here's the content of /etc/ntp.conf (sans most of the comments): > > restrict default nomodify notrap noquery > restrict 127.0.0.1 > # server 0.pool.ntp.org > # server 1.pool.ntp.org > # server 2.pool.ntp.org > server time.cachenetworks.com > driftfile /var/lib/ntp/drift > > Here's the output from /var/log/messages. > The first output is without -g option and second one is with -g. > ... > Dec 31 16:04:34 gumstix daemon.err ntpd[447]: time correction of > -972551638 seconds exceeds sanity limit (1000); set clock manually to > the correct UTC time. > ... > Mar 8 06:51:15 gumstix daemon.notice ntpd[467]: time reset > -972551637.925997 s > > Now -972551637 = -31 years, approximately, so that's how the date is > set to 1939 > from 1970. However, it is not a simple sign inversion: the correct > time adjustment > should be more like +37 years. > > I'm really stumped. Any light you can shed on this problem is much > appreciated. > > Robert Dodier >
I believe that there is a limit to the date/time range that ntpd can handle and that it's something like 36 years. Try setting the date manually to something a little closer to being current. If it's off by less than 36 years, I think ntpd will handle it correctly. A startup script that set the date to a reasonable approximation; e.g. 2007 would probably solve your problem and work for the next 36 years or so. _______________________________________________ questions mailing list [email protected] https://lists.ntp.isc.org/mailman/listinfo/questions
