SLES as a NTP Server

SUSE Product Topics SLES Configure-Administer
1

Does anyone know what needs to be done to make SLES 11 SP3 act as a time server ?

I see the ntp client packages and I have them installed and configured, but I want to make other servers come to this server to get their time. Then have this server sync with the us.pool.ntp.org time server pools.

Where are the packages for the ntp-server ?

Thanks

2

Hi
Have a read here;
https://www.suse.com/documentation/sles11/singlehtml/book_sle_admin/book_sle_admin.html#cha.netz.xntp

In a nutshell, you would need to configure the system to your external time source, then point the other systems at you ntp server.

3

Yes but there is no ntp server daemon, just a client. So the server isn’t listening for ntp requests in order to respond. It will only time sync with an external source.

I’m going to try a compile the ntp-server from ntp.org and see if that will work. I’m surprised that SUSE doesn’t have a ntp-server daemon.

4

Hi cisaksen,

have you seen https://forums.suse.com/showthread.php?4979-Configure-SLES-server-as-an-internal-time-source, only a few threads away? :wink:

Like Malcolm already answered, the only “ntp client package” is the yast extension - the “ntp daemon” package contains the code to run both as server and as a client (the NTP daemon is both).

Regards,
Jens

5

Hi cisaksen,

[QUOTE=cisaksen;22634]Yes but there is no ntp server daemon, just a client. So the server isn’t listening for ntp requests in order to respond. It will only time sync with an external source.

I’m going to try a compile the ntp-server from ntp.org and see if that will work. I’m surprised that SUSE doesn’t have a ntp-server daemon.[/QUOTE]

since the ntp daemon is just that - an NTP server, the one from ntp.org, I’d like to know how you conclude “the server isn’t listening for ntp requests”, maybe there’s some setup problem?

With regards,
Jens

6

[QUOTE=jmozdzen;22638]Hi cisaksen,

since the ntp daemon is just that - an NTP server, the one from ntp.org, I’d like to know how you conclude “the server isn’t listening for ntp requests”, maybe there’s some setup problem?

With regards,
Jens[/QUOTE]
Hi
Correct, all you need to do is configure ntp.conf to allow connections from the local network, sync to an external time source, open the firewall port etc.

7

It’s not listening on port 123. And from what I’ve read so far, it looks like it is an ntp server but it does so using the rpc service. I’ve tried the test button on to another suse system that have ntp setup to listen to another time server and they respond to the test successfully but if you go the system it is not listening on port 123. Also the system that responded to the test successfully also does not appear on the local ntp server search.

8

Hi
So if you check via the system running the ntp daemon, maybe if post your current ntp.conf (maybe change your ip addresses to xxx) may help? Port open in the firewall? You have restarted the ntp service?

9

Hi cisaksen,

it then must be a configuration problem. Here’s what I see on one of my servers, running the standard NTP service that ships with SLES11SP3:

[CODE]nde101:~ # cat /etc/SuSE-release
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 (x86_64)
VERSION = 11
PATCHLEVEL = 3
nde101:~ # lsof -i4 -P | grep ntp
ntpd 13710 ntp 16u IPv4 24719 0t0 UDP *:123
ntpd 13710 ntp 20u IPv4 24726 0t0 UDP localhost:123
ntpd 13710 ntp 21u IPv4 24727 0t0 UDP 127.0.0.2:123
ntpd 13710 ntp 22u IPv4 24728 0t0 UDP nde101:123
nde101:~ # rcntp status
remote refid st t when poll reach delay offset jitter

*nde04.hh.nde.ag 195.50.171.101 3 u 1 16 377 0.132 -0.002 0.003
+nde32.hh.nde.ag 217.144.138.234 3 u 1 16 377 0.089 76.670 0.106
LOCAL(0) .LOCL. 10 l 47 64 377 0.000 0.000 0.001

Checking for network time protocol daemon (NTPD): running
nde101:~ # rpm -qi ntp
Name : ntp Relocations: (not relocatable)
Version : 4.2.4p8 Vendor: SUSE LINUX Products GmbH, Nuernberg, Germany
Release : 1.22.1 Build Date: Wed May 8 23:55:38 2013
Install Date: Thu May 8 14:59:06 2014 Build Host: gubaidulina
Group : Productivity/Networking/Other Source RPM: ntp-4.2.4p8-1.22.1.src.rpm
Size : 1635382 License: BSD 3-Clause
Signature : RSA/8, Wed May 8 23:55:45 2013, Key ID e3a5c360307e3d54
Packager : http://bugs.opensuse.org
URL : http://www.ntp.org/
Summary : Network Time Protocol daemon (version 4)
Description :
The Network Time Protocol (NTP) is used to synchronize the time of a
computer client or server to another server or reference time source,
such as a radio, satellite receiver, or modem.[/CODE]

And this even is one of our peer machines, a “client”, so to say. But our central NTP servers don’t look different and I may point any client at this server at any time, without problems…

Regards,
Jens