
TCP, FTP, Telnet, and NTP Concepts
114071 Rev. A 2-15
Synchronizing with the Best Available Time Server
Each NTP client in the synchronization subnet chooses the best available time
server from which to synchronize its internal clock. NTP uses the following
criteria to determine the time server whose time is best:
• Time server with the lowest stratum
• Time server closest in proximity to the primary time server (reduces network
delays)
• Time server offering the highest claimed precision
NTP prefers to have access to several (at least three) servers at the lower stratum
level, since it can apply an agreement algorithm to detect a problem on any part of
the time source.
NTP Client Modes
NTP provides three modes (or associations) in which servers and clients can
communicate with each other: Unicast Client mode, Broadcast Client mode, and
Multicast Client mode. Currently, Bay Networks supports only NTP Client mode.
NTP servers and clients form an NTP relationship and maintain an association
instance when they exchange messages.
Unicast Client Mode
You use Unicast Client mode primarily to configure a set of time servers (or peers)
for time synchronization. You can also configure access control filters for time
servers in Unicast Client mode, but normally you would perform this operation in
Broadcast Client or Multicast Client mode. For more information on performing
these tasks, see Chapter 6.
When you configure a set of time servers (peers) in Unicast Client mode, NTP
creates a peer list that includes each time server’s IP address. The NTP client uses
the peer list to determine which time servers to query for time information. When
the NTP client queries the time servers from the peer list, the time servers respond
with various time stamps, along with information about their clocks, such as
stratum, precision, and time reference (Figure 2-6). The NTP client reviews a list
of responses from all the available servers and chooses one server as the “best”
available time source from which to synchronize its internal clock.
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