H
HokeyPokey
This is my very first newsgroup posting, ever ... so here goes:
Is this the right newsgroup to ask questions about Windows Time Service
running on Windows XP SP2?
I have several Win PCs running on a home network and want to have them
all sync'd within a second (or so) of each other so that when I go to
sync files between the machines, the file timestamp is within a
reasonable tolerance.
I've been working with the time service for a couple weeks now, and am
surprised by how difficult I am finding it to tune. Because none of the
machines are on continuously, I'm trying to set them up to sync with NTP
servers on the internet. [ I have a simple/dumb file server running all
the time, but it is not capable of being an time server for this home
network.]
After reading as much as I can on the subject, and having gotten
comfortable with all the registry settings, I've tried a whole bunch of
combinations, but cannot get the clock to remain sync'd in any stable
fashion. For example, for a couple hours the time will be within a 100
ms of the NTP server, then out of the blue the time starts drifting away
by up to 20 seconds or more before it catches itself. And, because the
time service doesn't like large time jumps, it can take it quite a while
before it gets back to being within 100 ms of the NTP servers.
I have several tools installed that help me track the trends
[NTPMonitor] and the service's log files [Greyware's Windows Time Agent
.... GUI for the Windows Time Service], so I can clearly see it is the
service itself causing these large/huge variations.
I know the service kinda tunes itself, so I've let the machine run more
than 24 hours but it still does this odd behavior of appearing stable
for a while then sharply drifting away.
I've also tried disabling the Windows Time Service, and installing the
Windows port of NTP (from ntp.org) or NIST NTP client application. Both
work great. The port of NTP works really well, keeps the clock within 20
ms of the NTP servers. The NIST client does pretty good too, keeping
the clock within 100 ms of the servers.
Anyone familar enough with the Windows Time Service such that you'd be
able to discuss the registry settings? If so, I'd be happy to discuss
what I've tried thus far.
Is this the right newsgroup to ask questions about Windows Time Service
running on Windows XP SP2?
I have several Win PCs running on a home network and want to have them
all sync'd within a second (or so) of each other so that when I go to
sync files between the machines, the file timestamp is within a
reasonable tolerance.
I've been working with the time service for a couple weeks now, and am
surprised by how difficult I am finding it to tune. Because none of the
machines are on continuously, I'm trying to set them up to sync with NTP
servers on the internet. [ I have a simple/dumb file server running all
the time, but it is not capable of being an time server for this home
network.]
After reading as much as I can on the subject, and having gotten
comfortable with all the registry settings, I've tried a whole bunch of
combinations, but cannot get the clock to remain sync'd in any stable
fashion. For example, for a couple hours the time will be within a 100
ms of the NTP server, then out of the blue the time starts drifting away
by up to 20 seconds or more before it catches itself. And, because the
time service doesn't like large time jumps, it can take it quite a while
before it gets back to being within 100 ms of the NTP servers.
I have several tools installed that help me track the trends
[NTPMonitor] and the service's log files [Greyware's Windows Time Agent
.... GUI for the Windows Time Service], so I can clearly see it is the
service itself causing these large/huge variations.
I know the service kinda tunes itself, so I've let the machine run more
than 24 hours but it still does this odd behavior of appearing stable
for a while then sharply drifting away.
I've also tried disabling the Windows Time Service, and installing the
Windows port of NTP (from ntp.org) or NIST NTP client application. Both
work great. The port of NTP works really well, keeps the clock within 20
ms of the NTP servers. The NIST client does pretty good too, keeping
the clock within 100 ms of the servers.
Anyone familar enough with the Windows Time Service such that you'd be
able to discuss the registry settings? If so, I'd be happy to discuss
what I've tried thus far.