I've been using the NTP pool at pool.ntp.org with my ntpd setup, including the configuration for drift and multiple servers. It's been running smoothly for about two years, but I've recently noticed that some of the time servers I was connected to are now offline, which has impacted the health of my NTP setup. Specifically, I see that a good number of peers are inactive. Is there a recommended frequency for restarting ntpd to ensure I'm getting updates from active time servers?
4 Answers
Have you tried using the `pool` directive in your configuration? It automatically updates to include active members, which could save you a lot of hassle. As for restarts, you could do it every 90 days, but if you're routinely rebooting your machine for other reasons, you might not need to. Just keep an eye on your NTP status through a monitoring tool to catch any problems early.
Don’t forget to keep your system secure with updates. When you do reboot to apply those updates, your NTP issues might naturally resolve as well! It's a common fix, so it’s worth considering in your update routine.
It sounds like your NTP health check might be a bit misleading. The important thing to remember is that you really only need one or preferably four active sources for reliable timekeeping. Since you have 24 peers, you're likely in a decent spot. I recommend starting with weekly restarts to keep things fresh, then adjust as needed based on how stable your checks are.
If you're in an area where GPS works, consider adding a GPS refclock to your setup. It's relatively inexpensive and a reliable source of time—just make sure it has a clear view of the sky.
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