Configuration - Status - External NTP Server: ?

[skywave]

Hi all,
I run a WIN2003 SBS Server and have had problems with the time.windows.com time server not being accessible - and thereby generating a lot of errors in the sys-log..

I browsed the iNET for alternatives - and came over the MEINBERG NTP program..
Initially it looks good - and I have already installed it on my server - and also the NTP Time Server Monitor program.

Here comes my first Q: What am I supposed to enter in Configuration, Status, External NTP Server..?

Krgds
Henri

[Gregoire Diehl]

Hello Henri,

the NTP Time Server Monitor is just a configuration & monitoring tool for the NTP service.

You can monitor the local NTP Service as well as external NTP server. You can add external server on the configuration page. Every configured external server will have his own panel on the status page.

For example if you enter the time.windows.com under external NTP server then you are able to check the status of this NTP server on the status page.

BTW: NTP use port 123 and this port must not be blocked by a firewall.

time.windows.com is not very reliable, if you want to have very reliable NTP server then i would use the NTP Pool Project.

For Germany for example:
0.de.pool.ntp.org
1.de.pool.ntp.org
2.de.pool.ntp.org



Regards
Gregoire

[skywave]

I actually did install the: NTP for Windows NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista on my server - plus the NTP TSM..
My Q regarding the NTP for Windows NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista program:

I assume that when I install this - then the W32tm services will be disabled..?
But after doing the installation on my server - I see in Services that Windows Time is still running..!
Should I then disable the Windows Time service..?

[Gregoire Diehl]

Yes, normally the W32 time service will be disabled when instaling the NTP Service.

This seems to be failed on your system... so you have to disabled the W32time service manually.

Gregoire

[skywave]

That makes sense.. And that's what I have done then - disabled it..

But then I do not understand the next thing:
On the clients I still run the W32tm service to syncronize with the server..
So when I disable the W32tm service on the server - from where do the clients then get their time updates..?
They are set to syncronize with the server IP..

[skywave]

..BTW - I now realize that I have posted this topic under the wrong forum - it should have been directed under the Windows Installer forum..
You are welcome to move it to the correct one..
Krgds
Henri

[Gregoire Diehl]

Henri,

don´t worry, the NTP service will normally also reply to W32time requests.

There exists some version of W32time, where a synchronisation with a NTP server is not possible.

Read more at:
http://www.meinberg.de/english/faq/faq_28.htm

Gregoire

[skywave]

Gregoire,
After a few days getting used to the NTP for Windows and the Time Server Monitor being installed on both the server and the clients - everything works fine..
Thanks guys

It's nice to be able to watch (..ha..ha..get it? ) in a GUI what really happens..

Krgds
Henri

[ricardo_ortizf]

Ricardo,

Hi, i am testing the Time Server Monitoring, and i cannot contact a external server to check the status, I do not have installed the NTP Server in the localhost, Could somebody help me? I have Windows 2003 server running also I have the port 123 open. This problem is not happened if I test in my laptop and check the status of a public NTP i am testing the mx.pool.ntp.org NTP.

I got the follow errors:

NTP Status from 10.0.18.8 "No time source available or no answer from NTP service"
No association IDs (30)

Thanks for your help.

[Gregoire Diehl]

Hello,

i haven´t tested the NTP Monitor without local NTP service installed on Windows 2003 Server yet. I will try to perform some tests today and let you know the results.

Gregoire

[Gregoire Diehl]

I just saw that you are using a pool server address.

You have to know that the time servers from the NTP pool project are distributed to NTP clients via a round robin DNS. So every request to mx.pool.ntp.org will result in a different ip-address.
A lot of pool server have restricted the status information and will not reply to these kind of status requests.

So if you test mx.pool.ntp.org on two different systems this will most likely result in querying two different time servers. If you want to find out which ip address was assigned from mx.pool.ntp.org you have to call the command ntpq -np from a command line and see which IP address is returned for mx.pool.ntp.org. This ip address can then be used to monitor this specific server instead of the hostname from another pc.

[ricardo_ortizf]

Ricardo:

Thanks Gregoire, so do you think maybe our local NTP Server (10.0.18. has a restriction in the status information? If is this case, I need to talk with our NTP Supplier.

I appreciate your help, Very thanks.

[Gregoire Diehl]

so do you think maybe our local NTP Server (10.0.18. has a restriction in the status information?

Yes that would be possible. Are you able to get status messages from 10.0.18.8 from another pc running Windows XP for example?

I have just tested the NTP Time Server Monitor under Windows Server 2003 with and without local NTP service installed and was able to query external NTP server without problems.

I appreciate your help, Very thanks.

You´re welcome.

Gregoire