Hi all. I have 2 Netra440s in a cluster. I think I have them clocking
off of the same server, but that's not what I see when look at the
peers. I'm fairly new to NTP so I'm not sure if my ntp.conf files are
setup properly. Actually, I'd be surprised if they were. Both ntp.conf
files have
-----------------------------
#Servers:
server 127.127.1.0
server 216.152.162.29
server 216.152.162.30

#Peers:
peer clusternode1-priv prefer
peer clusternode2-priv
peer clusternode3-priv
peer clusternode4-priv
peer clusternode5-priv
peer clusternode6-priv
peer clusternode7-priv
peer clusternode8-priv
-----------------------------

So, right off, I guess I don't need nodes 3-8 in there since there are
only 2 nodes. Correct?

Next, when I look at ntpq -p I get:
-----------------------------
Node1:
     remote           refid      st t when poll reach   delay
offset    disp
==============================================================================
 LOCAL(0)        LOCAL(0)         3 l   56   64  377     0.00
0.000   10.01
*216.152.162.29  192.38.7.240     2 u  286 1024  377   212.98
96.627   89.90
+216.152.162.30  192.5.41.209     2 u  567 1024  377     2.53
6.402    9.90
 clusternode1-pr 0.0.0.0         16 -    - 1024    0     0.00    0.000
16000.0
 clusternode2-pr clusternode1-pr  4 u    -   64  377    -2.76
-14.217    8.18

Node2:
     remote           refid      st t when poll reach   delay
offset    disp
==============================================================================
 LOCAL(0)        LOCAL(0)         3 l   33   64  377     0.00
0.000   10.01
 216.152.162.29  0.0.0.0         16 -    - 1024    0     0.00    0.000
16000.0
 216.152.162.30  0.0.0.0         16 -    - 1024    0     0.00    0.000
16000.0
*clusternode1-pr 216.152.162.29   3 u   55   64  376     1.11
16.159    9.00
 clusternode2-pr 0.0.0.0         16 -    - 1024    0     0.00    0.000
16000.0
-----------------------------

It looks to me like node 1 is clocking off of the network and node2 is
clocking off of node 1. In the ntp.conf file it mentions that "All
nodes within the cluster must synchronize within the cluster as
peers.  Time synchronization amongst the nodes is more important than
the accuracy of the agreed upon time." which would explain why node2
is clocking of node1, but would that mean node2 would not even attempt
to clock from the network?

Thanks in advance.

Ben..

bozothedeathmachine wrote:
> Hi all. I have 2 Netra440s in a cluster. I think I have them clocking
> off of the same server, but that's not what I see when look at the
> peers. I'm fairly new to NTP so I'm not sure if my ntp.conf files are
> setup properly. Actually, I'd be surprised if they were. Both ntp.conf
> files have
> -----------------------------
> #Servers:
> server 127.127.1.0

The above is not a real great idea!  Your local clock is based on 
components that cost the manufacturer less than $2 US.  These components 
generally provide stability and accuracy that you would not tolerate in 
your wrist watch!

You can use your local clock as a "clock of last resort" but I generally 
do it like this:

server 127.127.1.0 			# local clock
#Make sure that the local clock will never be used if a real clock is
# available.
fudge 127.127.1.0 stratum 10
# Configure a minimum of four internet servers.
server a.b.c.d			
server d.e.f.g
server h.i.j.k
server l.m.n.o

Next, the server 216.152.162.29 with a round trip delay of 213 
milliseconds is so far away from your site that I would not even 
consider using it.  The maximum error in transmitting the time from 
server to client is 1/2 the round trip delay.  This fact suggests that
servers located nearby are the best choices.  Look for round trip delays 
of less than thirty milliseconds.

There are two lists of publicly available servers at:
http://support.ntp.org/bin/view/Servers/WebHome

It is STRONGLY suggested that the stratum one servers should be used 
only by those who are synchronizing 100 or more clients.  You DO NOT, 
however, point all 100 clients to the public server; you set up your 
own, in house, server and point it to the stratum one server and let it 
serve time to your local flock.  Also note that stratum is NOT related 
to accuracy, it is simply a measure of the number of "hops" between the 
server and the atomic clock at the "root".

> The above is not a real great idea!  Your local clock is based on
> components that cost the manufacturer less than $2 US.  These components
> generally provide stability and accuracy that you would not tolerate in
> your wrist watch!
>
> You can use your local clock as a "clock of last resort" but I generally
> do it like this:
>
> server 127.127.1.0                      # local clock
> #Make sure that the local clock will never be used if a real clock is
> # available.
> fudge 127.127.1.0 stratum 10
> # Configure a minimum of four internet servers.
> server a.b.c.d
> server d.e.f.g
> server h.i.j.k
> server l.m.n.o
>
> Next, the server 216.152.162.29 with a round trip delay of 213
> milliseconds is so far away from your site that I would not even
> consider using it.  The maximum error in transmitting the time from
> server to client is 1/2 the round trip delay.  This fact suggests that
> servers located nearby are the best choices.  Look for round trip delays
> of less than thirty milliseconds.

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I do not have access to public
servers, this is a private network and we're told to clock off of
those servers. However, I think when I ran that command before it was
during a network hiccup because the delay is now 2 milliseconds. I'll
change the rest of it though. Thanks.

On 2007-06-21, bozothedeathmachine <bozothedeathmachine@gmail.com> wrote:

> So, right off, I guess I don't need nodes 3-8 in there since there are
> only 2 nodes. Correct?

Correct. I believe recent editions of the SunCluster documentation even point 
this out in the install guide (I may be wrong; however; I haven't looked at 
that guide in a long time)

> It looks to me like node 1 is clocking off of the network and node2 is
> clocking off of node 1. In the ntp.conf file it mentions that "All
> nodes within the cluster must synchronize within the cluster as
> peers.  Time synchronization amongst the nodes is more important than
> the accuracy of the agreed upon time." which would explain why node2
> is clocking of node1, but would that mean node2 would not even attempt
> to clock from the network?

It is must important to keep your cluster nodes with the same time. In fact, 
I'd suggest it is more important to have the nodes with that same time than to 
have them with exactly the correct time.

You don't want your second node going off and trying to pull in a different 
direction. It should solely trust the primary node.

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