Time Server Problems

[rayway]

Our network consists of 2 servers and both are acting as DC's.

The following warnings appear in the System log on a regular basis of one of the DC's. This DC is also acting as the PDC emulator.

Source: w32time
Category: None
Event ID: 54
The Windows Time Service was not able to find a Domain Controller. A time and date update was not possible.

Source: w32time
Category: None
Event ID: 64
Because of repeated network problems, the time service has not been able to find a domain controller to synchronize with for a long time. To reduce network traffic, the time service will wait 960 minutes before trying again. No synchronization will take place during this interval, even if network connectivity is restored. Accumulated time errors may cause certain network operations to fail. To tell the time service that network connectivity has been restored and that it should resynchronize, execute "w32tm /s" from the command line.

The other DC does not contain these warnings.

1) How can I determine which DC is acting as the time server?

2) How can I force the other DC and the clients to use the correct time server?

3) How can I prevent the warnings in the log file from occuring?

 

[Jpoandl]

1) The DC that holds the PDC emulator FSMO role is always the default time server.

2) All clients of the domain are automatically configured to look to the domains time server...there is nothing that you would need to manaully configure (client compatible with w32time are Windows 2000 and higher)

3) I think the problem might be that you haven't set the domain time server to synch with an internet time source.

go to your PDC emulator and run:

net time /?
The syntax of this command is:


NET TIME
[\\computername | /DOMAIN[:domainname] | /RTSDOMAIN[:domainname]] [/SET]
[\\computername] /QUERYSNTP
[\\computername] /SETSNTP[:ntp server list]

to set the time source server enter a time source server from the internet:

net time /setsntp:xx.xx.xx.xx

-later

Joseph L. Poandl
MCSE 2003

If your company is in need of experts to examine technical problems/solutions, please contact

http://www.NJCOMPUTERNETWORKS.com

(Sales@njcomputernetworks.com)

 

[ITPangaeaArchitect]

if wasn't synching with a time server he'd be getting different errors stating that it could not contact its time server to it elected to use itself and updated its own time.

1st off, make sure you have port 123 open (I think UDP)
just for grins and giggles
change your time back on the DC about 2 minutes behind or ahead of the naval observatory

on the PDC, run net time /setsntp:<naval observatory for your tz>
run net time /setsntp:<PDCE name>
on the other DC that is not the PDC (do the PDC first)

then run w32tm -resync -rediscover

see if your clock synchs with the observatory

unfortunately you can't really accurately tell who would be hosting time because it goes in a domain manner, i.e., everyone always this the PDC, if the PDC is unavailable, they go to the next DC in the dclist
net time command does not successfully tell you who you are synched with

btw, another point to add...do not use two time servers in the net time /setsntp command...it's unsupported
it might work or it might not...but net time is written really for only one address
although they published whitepapers early on saying you can use mroe than one if seperated by a comma, but don't do it if you want w32time to be reliable

-Brandon Wilson
MCSE00/03, MCSA:Messaging, MCSA03, A+
almost got a paragraph there

 

[rayway]

I do not want to use the Internet as a source for time. I would like to keep a local server for that purpose (perhaps the PDC emulator).

How can I make sure that the PDC emulator is the authoritative time server?

How can I make sure that the authoritative time server does not look anywhere else to update its time?

 

[ITPangaeaArchitect]

actually i need to rephrase something...joe is correct in you're not getting out there...that's why you get your second error

likely candidate is closed 123 UDP

-Brandon Wilson
MCSE00/03, MCSA:Messaging, MCSA03, A+
almost got a paragraph there

 

[Jpoandl]

Yes, you can make your PDc the time source if you don't want to synch to the internet.

Net Time /SetSNTP:xx.xx.xx.xx

xx.xx.xx.xx = ip of pdc-emulator

Although, I've never tried this, I think it will work. It will get rid of w32time error on the pdc emulator server.



Joseph L. Poandl
MCSE 2003

If your company is in need of experts to examine technical problems/solutions, please contact

http://www.NJCOMPUTERNETWORKS.com

(Sales@njcomputernetworks.com)

 

[ITPangaeaArchitect]

actually youll still get a warning though

it will tell you that it couldnt find an external source so it synched with itself

-Brandon Wilson
MCSE00/03, MCSA:Messaging, MCSA03, A+
almost got a paragraph there