How to synchronize the clock of a windows server 2003 domain server?

Question

Given a windows server 2003 domain server, I'd like to sync it's time to (any) external time services (it's off a couple of minutes). How to do this 1, manually; 2, in an automated manner every week?

Please see http://serverfault.com/questions/3403/how-do-i-configure-a-windows-domain-controller-to-use-an-external-time-server and http://serverfault.com/questions/tagged/ntp — Zoredache, May 27 '09 at 19:36

gharper · Accepted Answer · 2009-05-27T19:18:39.643

From the TechNet article:

To synchronize the domain controller with an external time source:

Open a command prompt
In the Command Prompt window, type the following line, where peers is a comma-separated list of IP addresses of the appropriate time sources, and press ENTER:
w32tm /config /manualpeerlist: peers /syncfromflags:MANUAL

The time sources you choose depend on your time zone. For example, if your domain controller is located in the Pacific Time zone, this line might read:
w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:131.107.1.10 /syncfromflags:MANUAL
Press ENTER. You should get a message that the command completed successfully.
Type w32tm /config /update
Press ENTER. You should get a message that the command completed successfully.
To immediately synchronize with the external time server, type w32tm /resync and press ENTER. You should get a message that the command completed successfully.
Type Exit and press ENTER.

Be aware that you may need to open the SNMP port on your firewall before the TechNet solution works. — Kyle Noland, May 27 '09 at 20:07

score 6 · Answer 2 · answered May 27 '09 at 19:18

6

Keep in mind that in an AD domain, the holder of the PDC emulator FSMO role is responsible for time sync, and should be the only one you configure for external access to a time source.

answered May 27 '09 at 19:18

This is a good point. For any Directory Services, especially those with Kerberos, it's less important that the computers all have the "correct" time than it is that they all have the same time. – Rob Moir Jun 05 '09 at 10:21

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered May 27 '09 at 19:16

1

net time /setsntp:ntpserver

List of ntp servers www.pool.ntp.org

answered May 27 '09 at 19:16

Javier

21
1

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 19 '09 at 17:52

Or, if you want to script it, you can do it as a registry edit: Change the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\Parameters\NtpServer to the NTP server you want to use, followed by ",0x1": the default is "time.windows.com,0x1". The restart the Windows Time service and you're sorted.

How to synchronize the clock of a windows server 2003 domain server?

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