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From: billd@fps.com (Bill Davidson)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.time.ntp
Subject: Re: synchronizing a LAN-full of machines
Message-ID: <17835@celit.fps.com>
Date: 17 May 91 22:11:18 GMT
References: <9105171342.AA23309@volitans.morningstar.com>
Distribution: inet
Organization: FPS Computing Inc., San Diego CA
Lines: 34

In article <9105171342.AA23309@volitans.morningstar.com> bob@morningstar.com (Bob Sutterfield) writes:
>I don't know why Sun doesn't provide some sort of timekeeping system,
>especially considering how confused applications get when NFS clients
>and servers have different ideas about the time.  A few vendors, but
>not many, are now shipping timekeepers with their systems.  Perhaps
>it's a matter of waiting until the "research toys" filter down into
>the "real world" of commercial demands.

I've always thought it strange too.  I have a man page for timed on
SunOS 3.4 but I can't find an executable.  Sun has always had a
/usr/include/protocols/timed.h though it's years out of date.  The
source for timed from 4.3BSD does compile and run fine on SunOS 4.1
provided that you update /usr/include/protocols/timed.h.  I had
troubles trying that with 3.4.  I didn't try 4.0.3.

My company ships timed with the FPS Model 500 series and when we were
Celerity we shipped it with the 1200 series.  I believe a number of
other vendors (most notably Berkeley) do so as well.  I don't know what
Sun's problem with it was.  Admittedly, timed is not great at keeping
the time correct but at least it will keep everyone on your local net
in agreement about which second it is.  Timed is so simple and small; I
see no reason not to include it.

While NTP keeps better time, it's a lot bigger and more complicated and
in more of a state of flux.  Unlike timed it requires that the admin
have an idea what is going on to set it up.  If you are willing to put
in a little time to figure out how set it up, you'll be a lot happier
with it than you would be with timed; especially if you are on the
Internet.  Even if you aren't on the Internet and don't have a
reference clock, xntpd's drift compensation is reason enough alone to
use it instead of timed.  Still, a lot of people don't want to know
about it; they just want things to work right.

--Bill (I am NOT an offical spokesperson for FPS Computing Inc.) Davidson