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Legal Notices
Novell, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents or use of this documentation, and specifically disclaims any express
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This product may require export authorization from the U.S. Department of Commerce prior to exporting from the U.S. or Canada.
Copyright 1993-2000 Novell, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, photocopied, stored on a retrieval system, or
transmitted without the express written consent of the publisher.
U.S. Patent Nos. 4,555,775; 5,157,663; 5,349,642; 5,455,932; 5,553,139; 5,553,143; 5,594,863; 5,608,903; 5,633,931; 5,652,854; 5,671,414;
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Network Time Management Guide
Updated March 2003

Online Documentation: To access the online documentation for this and other Novell products, and to get updates, see
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Contents
Synchronizing Network Time with NetWare Time Management

Documentation Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

How Timesync.NLM Works

Timesync Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . .
Identifying Timesync Server Types . . . . .
Single Time Server . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reference Time Server . . . . . . . . . .
Primary Time Server . . . . . . . . . . .
Secondary Time Server . . . . . . . . . .
Configuration Checklist for Time Servers .

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Configuring Timesync on Servers

Configuring a Time Provider Group in a Forced Scenario
Configuring a Time Provider Group in a Voted Scenario .
Guidelines for Time Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Set Parameters to Configure Timesync . . . . . .
Advanced Usage for Debug Flag . . . . . . . . . . .
Setting Time Backwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Setting Timesync SET Parameters Consistently . . . . .

. 9
11
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Troubleshooting Timesync Problems

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Synchronizing Network Time with NetWare Time

Management
Synchronizing time across the NetWare network lets you maintain consistent time stamps.
NetWare needs to maintain a common system time for keeping file date and time stamps correctly,
for auditing and logging, and for managing users' login time restrictions. It is also important to
maintain a common time for the entire network system of servers and workstations.
The NetWare server utility TIMESYNC.NLM ensures that all NetWare servers report the same
time and order events correctly. In a multiple server environment, the functionality to maintain a
common time for all NetWare servers in the network is referred to as time synchronization.
A common time across the network helps eDirectory, messaging service, the file system, and other
similar services.
This documentation covers the following topics:
Chapter 1, How Timesync.NLM Works, on page 9
Chapter 2, Configuring Timesync on Servers, on page 15
Troubleshooting Timesync Problems on page 23

Documentation Conventions
In this documentation, a greater-than symbol (>) is used to separate actions within a step and items
in a cross-reference path.
Also, a trademark symbol (, TM, etc.) denotes a Novell trademark. An asterisk (*) denotes a thirdparty trademark.

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How Timesync.NLM Works

Time synchronization is accomplished by designating a server or a group of servers to provide time
for all other servers and client workstations in the network.
The following sections help you to understand Timesync:
Timesync Terminology on page 9
Identifying Timesync Server Types on page 11

Timesync Terminology
This documentation uses the following terms:
Time provider
A NetWare server that provides time to other NetWare servers so they can synchronize their
time with the time provider.
Time consumer
A NetWare server that seeks time from other NetWare servers to synchronize its time. This
server can also act as a time provider for other servers and client workstations on the network.
NTP time provider
A server that understands the Network Time Protocol (NTP) protocol and provides NTP time
to other servers or to workstations on the network.
NTP time consumer
A server that understands the NTP protocol and seeks NTP time from other NTP time provider
to synchronize its time.
Time provider group
A set of servers that are configured to ensure fault tolerance and optimal network usage.
The time provider group helps to keep the network traffic at a minimum.
A time provider group requires at least one server to be designated as a time provider in the
group. Other servers in the group can help to minimize traffic by spreading across geographic
locations, thereby minimizing traffic across routers and WANs. Additionally, other servers or
workstations consume time from this time provider group.
Timesync network can be configured using one of the following time provider groups:
Configuring a Time Provider Group in a Forced Scenario on page 15
Configuring a Time Provider Group in a Voted Scenario on page 16
The following figure shows a time provider group with the Reference time server at one level.
The Reference time server provides time to Primary time servers. At the next lower level, the

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time provider group consists of Primary time servers that provide time to Secondary time
servers. Each of these servers can provide time to their workstations.

Reference
time server

Primary

Primary

Secondary

Secondary

The following figure illustrates a network using an external time server that provides time to
two Reference time servers, which are geographically distant.
External
time source

Sydney1
reference

Sydney2
primary

London1
reference

Sydney3
primary

Sydneyx
secondary

London3
primary

Londonx
secondary

Sydney Provider Group

10

London2
primary

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Identifying Timesync Server Types

To use Timesync, you must configure the NetWare servers. Timesync configuration allows some
servers to be time providers and other servers to follow the time providers and become time
consumers. Time consumers can provide time to the workstations and other servers in the network.
The following lists Timesync server types that you must use to configure Timesync.
Single Time Server on page 11
Reference Time Server on page 12
Primary Time Server on page 12
Secondary Time Server on page 13
NOTE: All Timesync servers can accept or provide time from and to NTP providers and consumers. There is
a built-in NTP time consumer and NTP time provider in Timesync for this purpose. Timesync is not fully
compliant with NTP.

For a quick reference on time server configuration, see Configuration Checklist for Time Servers on page 13.

Single Time Server

A Single time server provides time to Secondary servers and workstations.
A Single server can obtain time from a NTP time provider or from its own internal clock. This
server acts as a master time provider to the Timesync network.
The Single time server falls back to the local clock if both of the following cases are true:
If the NTP time provider is not contactable
the Single time server has remained in synchronization with the NTP source for more than 10
minutes of polling delay
By default, the first server installed on a eDirectory tree is configured as a Single time server and
other NetWare servers in the eDirectory tree are configured as Secondary time servers.
All other servers must be able to contact the Single time server to synchronize or change time on
the network. The network administrator sets the time on the Single time server.
IMPORTANT: There can be only one Single time server in a eDirectory tree. There can be only one Single

time server in a Timesync network.

The following figure illustrates a Single time server providing time to Secondary time servers. The
Secondary time servers, in turn, provide time to their workstations.

Single
time server

Secondary
time server

Secondary
time server

Secondary
time server

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Reference Time Server

A Reference time server provides time to Primary and Secondary servers, including workstations.
A Reference time server can obtain time from an NTP time provider.
The Reference time server falls back to the local clock if both of the following cases are true:
If the NTP time provider is not contactable
the Reference time server has remained in synchronization with the NTP source for more than
10 minutes of polling delay
Reference time servers do not adjust their internal clocks; instead, the Primary time servers
internal clocks are adjusted to synchronize with the Reference time server. A Reference time server
acts as a central point to set network time. At server startup, the hardware clock is set to the time
obtained from its external time source.
More than one Reference time server can coexist in one Timesync network.
The following figure shows a Reference time server synchronized to an external clock. The
Reference time server, in turn, provides time to its own secondary servers and workstations, as well
as to the Reference time server at another location.
External
time source

Sydney1
reference

Sydney2
primary

Sydney3
secondary

Sydneyx
secondary

London1
reference

London2
primary

London3
secondary

Londonx
secondary

Sydney Provider Group

London Provider Group

Primary Time Server

A Primary time server synchronizes the time with a Reference time server or an external NTP
source.

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Primary servers can provide time to Secondary time servers and workstations. Primary time
servers are also designed to share time with other primary servers. Primary servers are used to vote
(calculate a common offset) amongst each other and arrive at a common network time. Here, the
time from Reference time server will have more weight age than the primaries.
Use the Primary time server on larger networks to increase fault tolerance by providing redundant
paths for Secondary time servers. If a Primary time server goes down, the Secondary time server
can get the time from an alternate Primary time server.
Primary server should have at least one primary and one reference time source to be synchronized
properly. Otherwise, though the server is synchronized, it will be in suspected or non fault tolerant
state.
The Primary time server falls back to the local clock if both of the following cases are true:
If the NTP time provider is not contactable
the Priamary time server has remained in synchronization with the NTP source for more than
10 minutes of polling delay

Secondary Time Server

A Secondary time server obtains the time from a Single, Primary, or Reference time server. It
provides time to other Secondary time servers and workstations on the network. It adjusts its
internal clock to synchronize with the network time. It provides the time to workstations, but it
does not participate in determining the correct network time.
If you designate a server on the network as a Single time server, designate all other servers on the
network as a Secondary time servers.
If you designate several servers on the network as Primary or Reference time servers, designate all
other servers on the network as Secondary time servers.

Configuration Checklist for Time Servers

The following table lists the time providers and time consumers that can be connected to each
other.
Time Provider

Time Consumer

Is this configuration allowed?

Single time server

Single time server

Not allowed

Reference time server

Not allowed

Primary time server

Not allowed

Secondary time server

Allowed

NTP Client Time

Consumer

Allowed

Single time server

Not allowed

Reference time server

Allowed

Primary time server

Allowed

Reference time
server

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Time Provider

Primary time server

Secondary time
server

NTP Server Time

Provider

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Time Consumer

Is this configuration allowed?

Secondary time server

Allowed

NTP Client Time

Consumer

Allowed

Single time server

Not allowed

Reference time server

Allowed

Primary time server

Allowed

Secondary time server

Allowed

NTP Client Time

Consumer

Allowed

Single time server

Not allowed

Reference time server

Not allowed

Primary time server

Not allowed

Secondary time server

Allowed

NTP Client Time

Consumer

Allowed

Single time server

Allowed

Reference time server

Allowed

Primary time server

Allowed

Secondary time server

Allowed

NTP Client Time

Consumer

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Configuring Timesync on Servers

The following sections explain how to plan, set up and configure Timesync on the network:
Configuring a Time Provider Group in a Forced Scenario on page 15
Configuring a Time Provider Group in a Voted Scenario on page 16
Guidelines for Time Synchronization on page 17
Using Set Parameters to Configure Timesync on page 17
Setting Timesync SET Parameters Consistently on page 22

Configuring a Time Provider Group in a Forced Scenario

Forced scenario is the default configuration that is set up during the installation. This
configuration is set if all time consumers are in the same tree as the time provider.
In a forced scenario, Timesync uses one time provider and other servers synchronize their time
with it. The time provider is a Single time server and other servers are Secondary time servers.
Configuration has the following advantages:
Simple and easy configuration.
Fewer than 30 NetWare servers. This limitation ensures that the Single time server is not
overloaded with time requests.
If all servers that need synchronization are in one tree, this is the default configuration after
installation.
Since the synchronization hierarchy is at two levels only, synchronization errors are
minimized.
The disadvantages of this configuration are the following:
This server configuration lacks fault tolerance. If the time server loses connection for an
extended period of time, Secondary time servers will not sync with the network time. With
only one time source, there is only one point of failure.
This server configuration has a fan-out of around 30 servers only. The Single time server must
be contacted by every server on the network. This leads to heavy loading of the Single time
server and communication problems on networks with slow or over utilized LAN/WAN links.
The first server installed in the tree is configured by default as the Single time server. Subsequent
servers are configured as Secondary time servers that seek time from the Single time server.
Single time servers cannot coexist with Primary and Reference time servers. This also implies that
the Single time server does not exchange time information with Primary and Reference time
servers. Single time servers advertise their existence through SLP/SAP in TCP/IPXTM. Therefore,
other servers installed in the same tree subsequently will not be configured as Single time server.

Configuring Timesync on Servers

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These servers will be configured as Secondary time servers with the Single time server as the time
source.
To set up Timesync in a forced scenario, complete these steps:
1 Configure one server as the Single time server.
2 Configure all other servers as Secondary time servers and specify the Single time server as the

time source for these servers.

For more information about Timesync SET parameters, see Using Set Parameters to Configure
Timesync on page 17.

Configuring a Time Provider Group in a Voted Scenario

In a Voted scenario configuration, you plan and customize the time synchronization on the servers.
In this configuration, identify the servers on the network that will be time sources and the servers
that will follow the identified time source.
This server configuration is adequate for networks with the following conditions:
More than 30 NetWare servers
Needs to be customized and is not configured by default, during installation.
To customize time synchronization, follow this approach:
Create a hierarchical structure for the servers.
The time servers at the topmost-level are closely synchronized.
The servers at each lower level are synchronized to servers at the next-level up.
The voted configuration for time synchronization:
Allows complete control of the time synchronization hierarchy
Optimizes the network traffic and distribute time sources around the network
Adds robustness to the synchronization hierarchy by adding alternate time sources that servers
should use in case of network failures
More than one Reference time server can coexist on a Timesync network, but both the servers
must be synchronized with each other. An external time source may be used for this purpose.
Voted configuration requires careful planning, especially on a large network.You should also
consider that adding new time sources requires that the configuration files on several other servers
should be updated.
Checklist for Voted Time Synchronization: Follow this checklist for a custom configuration.
If more than one eDirectoryTM tree is on the same network, will the trees be time synchronized
independently or together?
Which servers will be time sources (Primary and Reference time servers) and which servers
will be Secondary time servers?
Will time synchronization rely on SAP/SLP, a configured sources list, or a combination of the
two?
In a custom configuration, eliminate the use of SAP/SLP by using the following parameters
in the configuration file:

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service advertising = off

configured sources = on

If the servers will use a configured sources list, which servers will contact which time sources?
Will more than one Reference time server be required? If so, what external time sources will
be used to synchronize these servers?

Guidelines for Time Synchronization

The following guidelines can help you to organize the hierarchy structure for the servers:
Whenever possible, specify Secondary time servers to synchronize with time sources. In this
case, the time sources are Primary, Single, or Reference time source.
Keep to a minimal number of time sources to reduce the network traffic. The number of packet
exchanges between two servers doubles during each polling interval.
Use time sources to provide local access throughout the network. On a large network, the use
of multiple time sources can reduce the overall traffic across routers.
Avoid using Primary time servers across WAN. This will minimize the traffic across WANs
for time synchronization that may occur due to voting.
If you are configuring for a multiple network, distribute Primary time servers strategically
across the WAN infrastructure. This will reduce the WAN traffic by providing a time source
for Secondary time servers and client workstations at each location.
If the WAN infrastructure requires more than seven Primary time servers in the time provider
group, implement additional time provider groups as necessary. Ensure that each Reference
time server is synchronized to the same time source.
All other servers in the network should be designated as Secondary time servers.

Using Set Parameters to Configure Timesync

Timesync uses the following parameters:
Parameter

start of daylight savings

time = date and time

Explanation

Local date and time when the switch onto daylight savings time
should occur. Formats include a simple date and time or rules
introduced by an parentheses (.
For example: April 4 1993 2:0:0 am, (April 4 2:0:0 am), (April
Sunday >= 1 2:0:0 am), or (April Sunday First 2:0:0 am).
Only rules can reschedule for the next year. You must set both
the start and end dates before either will be scheduled.
For more information, see SET in NetWare 5.1 Utilities
Reference.

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Parameter

Explanation

end of daylight savings time

= date and time

Local date and time when the switch off of daylight savings time
should occur. Formats include a simple date and time or rules
introduced by an open parentheses (.
For example: October 31 1993 2:0:0 am, (October 31 2:0:0 am),
(October Sunday <= 31 2:0:0 am), or (October Sunday last 2:0:0
am).
Only rules can reschedule for the next year. You must set both
the start and end dates before either will be scheduled.
For more information, see SET in NetWare 5.1 Utilities
Reference.

daylight savings time offset

= [+|-] hour:minute:second

The offset applied in time calculations when daylight savings

time is in effect.
The default is +1:00:00 (one hour).
Issuing this command causes UTC time to be recalculated from
local time.
For more information, see SET in NetWare 5.1 Utilities
Reference.
Default: +1:00:00

daylight savings time status

= on|off

Indicates whether daylight savings time is in effect (On) and the

daylight savings time offset should be used in time calculations.
Changing the status does not change the local time.
Default: Off

timesync configured sources

= on|off

When On, this server does not listen to advertising time sources.
Instead it only contacts sources explicitly configured with the
Time Sources parameter.
Default: Off

timesync polling count =

number

Specifies the number of time packets to exchange while polling

with the time provider.
Default: 3

timesync polling interval =

number

Specifies when the next polling is scheduled.

timesync reset = on|off

When set to On, Timesync resets the selected internal values

and clears the configured server list.

Default: 600

The flag automatically sets to Off.

Default: Off
timesync restart flag

When set to On, Timesync will restart. The flag automatically

resets to Off.
Default: Off

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Parameter

Explanation

timesync service advertising

= on|off

When On, this time source advertises itself using SAP/SLP.

Secondary time servers never advertise.
Default: On

timesync synchronization
radius = value in seconds

Specifies the maximum tolerance.

Timesync remains in synchronization while the offset is lesser
than this value.
Default: 2000

timesync time adjustment

=[+|-]hour:minute:second
[at month/day/year
hour:minute:second [AM or PM]

Schedule a time adjustment. Can only be issued from a Single,

Reference, or Primary type server.
The format is [+|-]hh:mm:ss [AT [date and time]]. Default date
and time is six polling intervals or one hour (whichever is longer)
from now.
Using the word CANCEL instead of a date to cancel a previously
scheduled adjustment.
Single and Reference time servers do not accept adjustments
from Primary time servers.
Default: None scheduled

timesync time source: IP

address

This server contacts the servers in this list as time providers.

Each time server (IP address, DNS Name) in this list is
separated by a semicolon ;.
For example: a semicolon ; clears the list MyServer and
specifies that MyServer is the NetWare time source.
MyServer:123; specifies that MyServer is a NTP time source.
Default: Empty list

timesync type =
primary|single|reference|se
condary

Specifies the Timesync server type: Single, Reference, Primary,

or Secondary.

standard time offset

Enter the offset in hours from Universal Time Coordinated

(UTC).

time zone = IST [Time offset

from IST]

Default: Single

Time zone string indicates the abbreviated name of the time

zone, the offset from UTC, and the alternate abbreviated time
zone name to be used when daylight savings time is in effect.
The default is <>. Issuing this command causes UTC time to be
recalculated from local time.
Default: Selected during installation

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Parameter

default time server type =

primary|single|secondary|re

Manual

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Explanation

Specifies the default time synchronization server type.

Choose from Secondary, Primary, Reference, or Single.

ference

This parameter can be overridden by separate time

synchronization parameters.
Default: Secondary
debug flag = 0|7|15

This parameter specifies whether Timesync opens a debug

screen to view debug information.
To enable the debug screen and log it to timesync.log (located in
SYS:\SYSTEM):
set timesync debug=15

To enable the debug screen, specify: set timesync debug=7.

set timesync debug=7

To disable the debug screen, specify: .

set timesync debug=0

For more information about advanced usage of debug flag, see

Advanced Usage for Debug Flag on page 21.
immediate synchronization =
on|off

Activates the synchronization process immediately and starts a

polling loop.
This trigger is useful after the debug flag has been set to cause
some screen output, rather than waiting for the process to
awaken normally.
This parameters resets to Off automatically.
Default: On

Advanced Usage for Debug Flag

This parameter has three types of debug messages. Each type of debug message is enabled by
setting a corresponding bit.
1. TIMESYNC: Polled server Corp_com OFFSET.H=FFFFFFFF OFFSET.L =
F1F06723.

This message provides the following details:

Name of the server.
The values for OFFSET.H and OFFSET.L are the calculated deviation of this servers
time from the target servers time. The values form a 64-bit signed number with an
implied hexadecimal point separating the whole and fractional parts.
For example, FFFFFFFF.F1F06723 indicates that this server is a fraction of a second
ahead of Corp_ Com. Another possibility is that this is a weight of zero with non-zero
offset values. This indicates that the synchronization data is out of range.
2. Uniform adjustment requested=-400 milliseconds. This server is
configured as a Secondary.

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This message provides the following details:

The actual adjustment applied to the clock in milliseconds
The time server type
For example, when the adjustment is +0.00000000, the servers are in exact
synchronization. This implies that no error can be detected by the algorithm. This value
stabilizes at a very small negative value such as 200 milliseconds.
3. Adjustment smaller than correction floor was ignored.
This message states that the clock adjustment is so small that it will be ignored. The parameter
which determines the cutoff point is set to 1 millisecond by default.
Change this parameter with the following command (undocumented): set timesync
correction=x, where x is a value in milliseconds. This value must be always less than the
synchronization radius; otherwise, synchronization is not possible.

Setting Time Backwards

Setting the time backwards is not recommended for the following reasons:
Impacts eDirectory drastically, as synchronizing of objects across eDirectory is dependent on
timestamps.
eDirectory considers this as synthetic time.
To ensure consistent timestamps across eDirectory, DSREPAIR.NLM provides an interface to
declare a new epoch. This results in very high traffic to restamp all eDirectory objects.
The standard practice, before starting a Netware server, is to ensure that the time is as close as 10
minutes to the network time. This prevents many time synchronization issues.

Setting Timesync SET Parameters Consistently

Configure the SET Timesync parameters consistently on the network to avoid time
synchronization conflicts on large networks.
The following parameters are interdependent across the servers:
set timesync service advertising = on|off
All servers should be configured the same (On or Off) for this parameter to be effective.
This parameter has no effect on time consumers (Secondary time servers).
set timesync configured sources = on|off
When On, this server does not listen to SAP/SLP Timesync services. The time source for this
server will be taken from the timesync configuration file.
set timesync time sources
This parameter identifies a time provider by server name or IP address. To use a NTP time
source, prefix the server name or IP address with :123. Here, 123 indicates the standard
NTP port. For Timesync to use this parameter, set timesync configured sources SET
parameters to On. The time servers specified in the configured sources overrides servers
discovered by any SAP/SLP, if configured sources Timesync SET parameters is set to On.
set default time server type
The SET Timesync Type parameter always overrides this parameter.
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Troubleshooting Timesync Problems

This section covers the following:
Time Zone Problem on page 23
Synthetic Time Problem on page 23
Time Zone Problem
Problem:
Possible Cause:
Action:

Users are logged out at incorrect times or time restrictions are shown incorrectly or LASTLOGIN
displays an incorrect time.
The time zone is not set correctly.
Use one of the following commands to set the time zone:
set tz=timezone in AUTOEXEC.BAT
DOS SET TZ=timezone in login script

Synthetic Time Problem

Problem:

The NetWare server reports the following error:

Synthetic time is being issued on partition.

Possible Cause:

Action:

In NetWare 4 and later versions, synthetic time is issued at a server with the error DS- 4.63-12
if the server time is set backwards. The synthetic time is cycled every two minutes until the server
time is later than the last modified time stamp.
Run DSREPAIR.
Click Advanced Options > Replica and Partition Operations, and then select the partition you want
to update.

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