Windows server 2008 r2 configure external time source

How do I sync the time on Win Server R2 with the internet? The clocks on our servers seem to be a couple minutes behind. I changed them manually a couple months ago as a quick fix but I knew that wouldn't last. In here there is a key named NtpServer. This value can be changed to any ntpserver of your choosing. Just google ntp server list and there are sites that will list external time servers. Choose the one that works for your location. Good luck!

Fix this sooner rather than later. The Kerberos authentication protocol in Windows also relies on the Time Service and if the time is out of sync on the servers, you can have some serious issues.

By default, the Windows computers use the following hierarchy to synchronize time with the servers. All client desktop computers synchronize time with the authenticating domain controller. All member servers also synchronize time with the authenticating domain controller. All domain controllers in a domain synchronize time with the primary domain controller PDC operations master. Microsoft recommends that you configure the authoritative time server to obtain the time from a hardware source because when you configure the authoritative time server to sync with an Internet time source there is no authentication.

However, there are pros and cons to both using a hardware source and an Internet time source. Organizations often choose to synchronize time with an Internet time source because it is free and convenient. Click OK. Contents Exit focus mode. Please rate your experience Yes No.

Any additional feedback? Note If an authoritative time server that is configured to use an AnnounceFlag value of 0x5 does not synchronize with an upstream time server, a client server may not correctly synchronize with the authoritative time server when the time synchronization between the authoritative time server and the upstream time server resumes.

Therefore, if you have a poor network connection or other concerns that may cause time synchronization failure of the authoritative server to an upstream server, set the AnnounceFlag value to 0xA instead of to 0x5. If an authoritative time server that is configured to use an AnnounceFlag value of 0x5 and to synchronize with an upstream time server at a fixed interval that is specified in SpecialPollInterval , a client server may not correctly synchronize with the authoritative time server after the authoritative time server restarts.

Therefore, if you configure your authoritative time server to synchronize with an upstream NTP server at a fixed interval that is specified in SpecialPollInterval , set the AnnounceFlag value to 0xA instead of 0x5. Note Peers is a placeholder for a space-delimited list of peers from which your computer obtains time stamps. Note TimeInSeconds is a placeholder for a reasonable value, such as 1 hour or 30 minutes Note In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem.

In this article. Automatic reliable time server The default value for domain members is Controls whether or not the chaining mechanism is disabled. If chaining is disabled set to 0 , a read-only domain controller RODC can synchronize with any domain controller, but hosts that do not have their passwords cached on the RODC will not be able to synchronize with the RODC.

Specifies the maximum amount of time that an entry can remain in the chaining table before the entry is considered to be expired. Expired entries may be removed when the next request or response is processed. The default value is 16 seconds. Controls the frequency at which an event that indicates the number of successful and unsuccessful chaining attempts is logged to the System log in Event Viewer.

The default is 30 minutes. Controls the maximum number of entries that are allowed in the chaining table. If the chaining table is full and no expired entries can be removed, any incoming requests are discarded.

The default value is entries. Controls the maximum number of entries that are allowed in the chaining table for a particular host. The default value is 4 entries. Specifies the smallest local clock adjustments that may be logged to the W32time service event log on the target computer. The default value is parts per million - PPM. Indicates the maximum number of seconds a system clock can nominally hold its accuracy without synchronizing with a time source. If this period of time passes without W32time obtaining new samples from any of its input providers, W32time initiates a rediscovery of time sources.

Default: 7, seconds. Controls which events that the time service logs. Time jump 0x2. Source change The default value on domain members is 2. The default value on stand-alone clients and servers is 2. Controls the rate at which the clock is corrected. If this value is too small, the clock is unstable and overcorrects. If the value is too large, the clock takes a long time to synchronize.

The default value on domain members is 4. The default value on stand-alone clients and servers is 4. Controls the period of time for which spike detection is disabled in order to bring the local clock into synchronization quickly.

Specifies that a time offset greater than or equal to this value in 10 -7 seconds is considered a spike. Maintained by W32Time. Controls the dispersion in seconds that you must assume when the only time source is the built-in CMOS clock. Specifies the maximum offset in seconds for which W32Time attempts to adjust the computer clock by using the clock rate.

Specifies the largest negative time correction, in seconds, that the service makes. Specifies the largest interval, in log2 seconds, allowed for the system polling interval. Specifies the largest positive time correction in seconds that the service makes. Specifies the smallest interval, in log base 2 seconds, allowed for the system polling interval. Controls the rate at which the phase error is corrected. Controls the decision to increase or decrease the poll interval for the system.

Controls whether or not the DC will respond to time sync requests that use older authentication protocols. Specifies the amount of time that a suspicious offset must persist before it is accepted as correct in seconds. An unsigned integer that indicates the time jump audit threshold, in seconds. Specifies the number of clock ticks between phase correction adjustments. Value of 1 indicates that W32Time uses multiple SSL timestamps to seed a clock that is grossly inaccurate. Indicates that non-standard mode combinations are allowed in synchronization between peers.

The default value for domain members is 1. Specifies a space-delimited list of peers from which a computer obtains time stamps, consisting of one or more DNS names or IP addresses per line.

Computers connected to a domain must synchronize with a more reliable time source, such as the official U. The default value on stand-alone clients and servers is time.

Indicates which peers to accept synchronization from: NoSync. The time service does not synchronize with other sources. The time service synchronizes from the servers specified in the NtpServer. The time service synchronizes from the domain hierarchy. The time service uses all the available synchronization mechanisms.

The default value on domain members is NT5DS. The default value on stand-alone clients and servers is NTP. The default value for stand-alone clients and servers is 0x Determines whether the service chooses synchronization partners outside the domain of the computer. The default value for domain members is 2. The default value for stand-alone clients and servers is 2. Specifies the location of the DLL for the time provider.

Indicates if the NtpClient provider is enabled in the current Time Service. Specifies the events logged by the Windows Time service.

Specifies the large sample skew for logging, in seconds.