Configuring,Windows,Based,NTP, computer Configuring a Windows Based NTP Network Time Server

Gone are those times when the companies and the organisations didn't need a hi-tech system to handle them. Owing to the considerable increase in the business sector and thus, an enormous increase in the complexity of the organisational struc ----------------------------------------------------------Permission is granted for the below article to forward,reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website,offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as longas no changes a

Computer time synchronisation is highlyimportant in modern computer networks, precision and time synchronization iscritical in many applications, particularly time sensitive transactions. Justimagine buying an airline seat only to be told at the airport that the ticketwas sold twice because it was purchased afterwards on a computer that had aslower clock! Modern computers do have internal clockscalled RealTime Clock chips (RTC) that provide time and date information. Thesechips are battery backed so that even during power outages,they can maintain time but personal computers are not designed to be perfectclocks. Their design has been optimized for mass production and low-cost ratherthan maintaining accurate time. Formany applications, this is can be quite adequate, although,quite often machines need time to be synchronised with other PC'son a network and when computers are out of sync witheach other problems can arise such as sharing network files or in someenvironments even fraud! MicrosoftWindows (2000 and above) has a time synchronisationutility built into the operating system called WindowsTime (w32time.exe) which can be configured to operate as a network timeserver. It can be configured to both synchronise a network using the internalclock or an external time source.  Note: Microsoft strongly recommends that you configure a timeserver with a hardware source rather than from the internet where there is noauthentication. To configure Windows Time service to use theinternal hardware clock, first check that w32time is located in the systemservices list in the registry, to check:Click Start, Run then type regedit thenclick ok.Locate and then click the following registry entry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time It is highly recommended that you back upthe registry as serious problems may occur if you modify the registryincorrectly, modifications to the registry are done at your own risk. Note: the following instructions are basedon Windows 2000 other versions of Windows may differ.  To begin configuration for an internalclock, click on the following subkey:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\ParametersIn the right pane, right-click ReliableTimeSource,then click Modify.In Edit DWORD Value, type 1 in the ValueData box, then click OKExit Registry Editor To restart the Windows Time Service clickStart, Run (or alternatively use the Command Prompt facility).Type: net stop w32time && net start w32timeThen press enter. To reset the local computers’ time, type the following on allcomputers except for the time server which must not be synchronised with itself:w32tm –s  To configure the Windows Time service touse an external time source, click Start, Run and type regedit then click OK. Locate the following subkey:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\ParametersIn the right pane, right-click Type thenclick Modify, in edit Value type NTP in the Value data box then click OK.  Now in the right pane, right clickReliableTimeSource, then click Modify.In the Edit DWORD Value box, under ValueData, type 0, then click OK. Right-click NtpServer in the right panethen click Modify.In Edit Value, type the Domain Name System (DNS),each DNS must be unique. Now click Ok. For Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 only, set the time correctionsettings to do this locate:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\ParametersIn the right pane, right-clickMaxAllowedClockErrInSecs, then Modify in the Edit DWORD Value box, , type atime in seconds max number of seconds difference between the local clock andthe time received from the NTP server in order to be considered a valid newtime. ClickOK. To set the poll intervals locate:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\ParametersIn the right pane, right-click Period, thenclick Modify.In the Edit DWORD Value box, under ValueData, type 24 then OKExit Registry Editor Click Start, then Run then type the following and press Enter:Net stop w32time && net start w32time To reset the local computers’ time, type the following on allcomputers except for the time server which must not be synchronised with itself:   Network Time Protocol (NTP) is an Internetprotocol used for the transfer of accurate time, providing time informationalong so that a precise time can be obtained To enable the Network Time Protocol;NTPserver, locate and click:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpServer\In the right pane, right-click Enabled, then click Modify.In the Edit DWord Value box, type 1 under Value data, then clickOK. Now go back and click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters\NtpServerIn the right pane, right-click NtpServer, then Modify, in the EditDWORD Value under Value Data type In the right pane, right-click NtpServer,then Modify, in the Edit DWORD Value under Value Data type the Domain Name System (DNS),each DNS must be unique and you must append 0x1 to the end of each DNS nameotherwise changes will not take effect.Now click Ok. Locate and click the followingHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient\SpecialPollIntervalIn the right pane, right-click SpecialPollInterval, then clickModify.In the Edit DWORD Value box, under Value Data, type the number ofseconds you want for each poll, ie 900 will poll every 15 minutes, then clickOK. To configure the time correction settings, locate: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\config In the right pane,right-click MaxPosPhaseCorrection, then Modify, in the Edit DWORD Value box,under Base, click Decimal, under Value Data, type a time in seconds such as3600 (an hour) then click OK. Now go back and click:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\configIn the right pane, right-click MaxNegPhaseCorrection, then Modify.In the Edit DWORD box under base, click Decimal, under value datatype the time in seconds you want to poll such as 3600 (polls in one hour) Exit Registry EditorNow to restart windows time service, click Start, Run (oralternatively use the command prompt facility) and type:net stop w32time && net start w32time And on each computer, other than the time server, type:W32tm/ -s And that’s it your time server should benow up and running.