Re: workstations & server times

I find the article you reference is (KB 816042), unnecessarily complicated (not wrong, just more complicated than necesary). Try instead http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc786897.aspx.

The member computers should be automatically set up to sync time correctly when they are joined to the domain and normally they should be within a few seconds of the time on the DC configured as the root of the time hierarchy.

With Vista or 2008, you can check the settings on the members computers easily:

w32tm /query /configuration

Windows XP and 2003 w32tm command doesn't have the query option, but you can use this command:

w32tm /dumpreg /subkey:Parameters, to some of the same information.

Among other things, the should tell you that the "Type:" is NT5DS, meaning that the computer is configured to use the domain time synchronization hierarchy.

The corresponding registry entry is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters\Type

which should be "NT5DS".

The article at http://blogs.msdn.com/w32time/archive/2007/09/04/keeping-the-domain-on-time.aspx explains how time synchronization in a domain works.

Depending on the number of domain controllers, domains and sites, it may take some time for all the domain controllers to re-synch with the root of the time hierachy (the PDC Emulator) if it's time is changed.

If I understand correctly, the Windows time service automatically adjusts how often it does a time sync with the time source depending on how much time difference it finds when the synchronization happens.

--
Bruce Sanderson
http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/
It's perfectly useless to know the right answer to the wrong question.


<param@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:uNNR$jZAJHA.2060@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
OK, so I followed the instructions at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816042 to enable my PDC Emulator to sync with pool.ntp.org. I synced it up and the date/time on it is correct.

I then went to my workstation and issued a "w32tm /resync /rediscover" command and nothing happened. It is still a minute or so behind the domain controller.

TIA!

<param@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:u0S0TLYAJHA.3404@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Can the DC be setup to sync its time with an external time server?


"Jorge Silva" <jorgesilva_pt@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:uZ$mLXXAJHA.4512@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi
-By default in domain environment all workstations sync their time with their local site DC. All DCs sync their time with the PDCe for their domain. All PDCes sync their time with the PDCe at the Root Domain.

-To answer your question; assuming that the DCs are in the same site as the DCs, they should be able to sync their time with the DCs in that site. You only need to mess with ISA server if internal connections (between workstations and DCs) are locked.

--
I hope that the information above helps you.
Have a Nice day.

Jorge Silva
MCSE, MVP Directory Services





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