NTP issues 1

[timeiu79]

Noticed the other day that our 2003 PDC's time is about 5 minutes fast, and so are all of the XP clients. I did not set this up, but I've been told it's supposed to synch to US Navy time. On the PDC, I can see it's configured w/ NTP to synch to Navy time, but it is not working. The below is from event viewer:

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: W32Time
Event Category: None
Event ID: 12
Date: 6/25/2008
Time: 4:45:54 PM
User: N/A
Computer: LIBDC01
Description:
Time Provider NtpClient: This machine is configured to use the domain hierarchy to determine its time source, but it is the PDC emulator for the domain at the root of the forest, so there is no machine above it in the domain hierarchy to use as a time source. It is recommended that you either configure a reliable time service in the root domain, or manually configure the PDC to synchronize with an external time source. Otherwise, this machine will function as the authoritative time source in the domain hierarchy. If an external time source is not configured or used for this computer, you may choose to disable the NtpClient.

My thinking is this... Because our PDC is using the default group policy the same as everything else, even though it is configured for NTP, it is using the defauly policy, which is configured for NT5DS. Any ideas as to if that is the cause? How can I test that theory without throwing things out of whack? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Davetoo]

What is the result of your net time /querysntp command?

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[timeiu79]

C:\Documents and Settings\administrator>net time /querysntp
The current SNTP value is: ntp2.usno.navy.mil

 

[Davetoo]

Change it to another NTP server and see if that has any effect.

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[58sniper]

You might be blocking that port (123) on the firewall.

Pat Richard
Microsoft Exchange MVP
Contributing author Microsoft Exchange Server 2007: The Complete Reference

 

[timeiu79]

Ok, I'm now trying a different time server. If it works, how long should it normally take to updated the time?

 

[Davetoo]

Nearly instantly on the PDC Emulator.

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

There are no more PDC's! There are DC's with FSMO roles!

 

[timeiu79]

Ok, then that didn't work, as it was nearly 30 minutes ago.

 

[Davetoo]

According to this Google searched site, the error you're seeing is normal. Read through the article and ensure you're following it's recommendations.

Also...silly question, but are you sure the server is five minutes ahead and not that your reference is five minutes behind?

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Configuring-Windows-Time-Service.html

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

There are no more PDC's! There are DC's with FSMO roles!

 

[timeiu79]

I'm comparing it to

http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/simpletime.html

and my cell phone. When I look at the site, it's showing our time is 5 minutes fast. For example, it's now 3:32 according to the site, and 3:37 according to the DC/PCs.

 

[Davetoo]

If you manually change the time on the PDC Emulator, what happens?

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

There are no more PDC's! There are DC's with FSMO roles!

 

[timeiu79]

I changed the time manually, and did a w32tm /resync on my PC, and it synched the time to the PDC.

 

[Davetoo]

You ever feel like you were just spinning your wheels?

When you changed the time on the PDC Emulator (not the PDC, the PDC Emulator), did the time remain "correct" or did it revert back to the five minute ahead issue?

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

There are no more PDC's! There are DC's with FSMO roles!

 

[timeiu79]

I feel like I'm constantly spinning my wheels! HA! The time is still OK, but I think the domain is now using the time I set manually, not synching to an external source. Our PDC emulator is our PDC, so wouldn't it be the same thing in our case?

 

[58sniper]

Our PDC emulator is our PDC,

No such thing as a PDC in 2003. Or 2000.....

Pat Richard MVP

 

[PScottC]

On the box hosting the PDC emulator role run the following command:

w32tm /config /syncfromflags:manual /manualpeerlist:ntp2.usno.navy.mil

followed by:

w32tm /resync /rediscover /nowait

Restart Windows Time Service

Check logs. Do you get the same error?

PSC

Governments and corporations need people like you and me. We are samurai. The keyboard cowboys. And all those other people out there who have no idea what's going on are the cattle. Mooo! --Mr. The Plague, from the movie "Hackers

 

[timeiu79]

I ran those commands, and don't see any error messages in Event viewer yet. I do see this one from 6/27/08: Event Type: Warning
Event Source: W32Time
Event Category: None
Event ID: 36
Date: 6/27/2008
Time: 2:29:18 PM
Description:
The time service has not synchronized the system time for 86400 seconds because none of the time service providers provided a usable time stamp. The time service is no longer synchronized and cannot provide the time to other clients or update the system clock. Monitor the system events displayed in the Event Viewer to make sure that a more serious problem does not exist.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at

http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

 

[timeiu79]

Actually, I spoke too soon. Forgot to restart the service. After restarting it, I got the same original error.

 

[Davetoo]

The error can be ignored. THe question is if the server is maintaining the correct time.

I'm Certifiable, not cert-ified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

There are no more PDC's! There are DC's with FSMO roles!

 

[timeiu79]

Well, it's still correct, but I'm not sure if it's actually pulling the time from the external source or if it's correct because I manually set the system time the same as the external server.