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To: Jon Radel <jon@radel.com>
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Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, Lisa Casey <lisa@jellico.com>
Subject: Re: ntp problem
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Jon Radel wrote:
> Lisa Casey wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> Running FreeBSD 5.3  IN /etc/ntp.conf I have:
>>
>> server time.nist.gov prefer
>> server tock.gpsclock.com
>> driftfile /etc/ntp.drift
>> logfile /var/log/ntp.log
>>
>> If I run ntpdate from a prompt, I get the following  error message:
>>
>> # ntpdate
>> 20 Apr 12:02:08 ntpdate[50109]: no servers can be used, exiting
>>
>> But if I type:
>>
>> ntpdate time.nist.gov   it will update the time. Is there something
>> wrong with my /etc/ntp.conf file?
>
> I don't believe ntpdate uses ntp.conf.  Try ntpd -q
>
> I don't have 5 running anywhere anymore, but if you read the man pages
> for 6.3, it's clear that ntpdate is depreciated and on its way out.
>
> Or you could just run ntpd as a daemon to maintain your time.

Exactly.
If you wish to use your /etc/ntp.conf file, add this to /etc/rc.conf:

ntpd_enable="YES"

and start it with /etc/rc.d/ntpd start

check /var/log/messages to see when it kicks in. It normally takes some
time before it does the first correction. You will see messages like this:

Apr 20 18:41:46 atlantis ntpd[783]: time reset +0.416117 s
Apr 20 18:41:46 atlantis ntpd[783]: kernel time sync status change 2001

and then you will know it is working.