🚀 go-pugleaf

> 
> I have an isolated (e.g. not hooked up to the internet) network that I would
> like to synchronize the time on.  We do not have a radio clock.
> 
> Over the long easter weekend I set up our 4 Sun disk servers with xntpd to
> attempt to synchronize their clocks.  They all started out (Friday) with
> fairly uniform time (couple of seconds off each other).  By Monday their
> clocks drifted so that the servers were several minutes off each other.
> 
> 
Keith,

(My reply to you bounced, so I just posted.)

I also run a local isolated network with 4 servers (not SUNs).
What I do is set up 1 server as the main server.  It synchronizes to
its local clock as a stratum 1 clock.  Its config file looks like:
 
server 127.127.1.1 #local clock
fudge 127.127.1.1 time1 0.00 flag1 1

The second server synchronizes to server 1 plus to its own local clock
at stratum 2 in case the main server dies.

peer 132.242.114.201 #main
server 127.127.1.2 #local clock
fudge 127.127.1.2 time1 0.00 flag1 1

The third server syncs to servers 1,2 plus its own clock at stratum 3.
The fourth server syncs to servers 1,2,3 plus its own clock at stratum 4.

All other hosts on the network sync to servers 2,3,4.

Plus in the rc file (on servers and hosts), I run ntpdate specifying
all 4 servers before starting xntpd.  (Note - it is important to set
the time to that of already running servers especially if you reboot
the main server.)

I hesitate to post this as I know it is not the intended use of NTP,
however, it does seem to work really well to keep an isolated network 
of systems sync'ed to each other.

Debbie

Debbie Galeazzi
NCR Corporation
E&M - San Diego, California
Debbie.Galeazzi@SanDiego.NCR.COM