NTP (Network Time Protocol)
The NTP system is based on Internet time servers, computers with access to atomic clocks such as those operated
by the U.S. government. These NTP servers run a software service that provides the clock's time of day to client
computers over UDP port 123. NTP supports a hierarchy of multiple server levels to handle a large load of
client requests. The protocol includes algorithms to accurately adjust the time of day being reported to account
for Internet network transmission delays.
Computers running Windows, Mac OS X and Linux operating systems can be configured to use an NTP server.
Starting with Windows XP, for example, the Control Panel "Date and Time" option contains an Internet Time
tab which allows choosing an NTP server and turning time synchronization on or off
The process name of the service = ntpd
Name of the rpm = ntpd
First check to see if you OS has already service rpm package installed on the system
rpm -qa | grep ntp
ntp.x.x.x.x86_64
ntpdate.x.x.x86_64
If the above rpms exist then you can proceed with the configuration
If the rpms do not exist then download the package/rpm using yum command
yum install ntpd -y
Once the package is installed make changes to the following configuration file:
/etc/ntp.conf (Linux)
Add NTP server IP or hostname where server parameters are defined
server ntp-hostname
Now start the service
systemctl restart ntpd
Also in order to have the service startup at the boot time run the following command
systemctl enable ntpd
NTP Logs location
/var/log/messages
Commands
ps -ef | grep ntp
OR
ntpq peers quit
ntpdate = Set date and time via ntp
ntpdate –v hostname = To manually force the time to sync with ntp server
List of NTP Servers on Web:
http://www.pool.ntp.org/zone/north-america