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From: ellozy@FARBER.HARVARD.EDU (Mohamed Ellozy)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.time.ntp
Subject: Re:  ntp-test or xntp?
Message-ID: <9101221941.AA04949@farber.harvard.edu>
Date: 22 Jan 91 19:41:01 GMT
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xntpd is a later product, implementing the full Version 2 spec.  Plain
ntpd is a Version 1 product with many (most?) version 2 features implemented.
I am not sure I care, but I run xntpd as I believe in having the latest
and greatest.

xntpd has a host of programming features to ensure full accuracy, not sure
how much it matters to those who want to be within a tenth of a second or
better of teh truth.  As a consequence it is large.

xntpd has code tp prevent "excessive" switching from one server to another.
I have not looked at the code but I suspect that it sticks for too long to
a server that has drifted from the consensus.  We are talking of a drift
of twenty or so milliseconds.

Unfortunately nobody is working on a UNIX implementation of Version 3,
which seems to have large algorithmic improvements.

Summary:  Toss a coin.

Mohamed