[pkg-ntp-maintainers] Bug#426238: Bug#426238: ntp: kernel time sync error 0001

[Kurt Roeckx]

On Sun, May 27, 2007 at 02:41:33PM +0200, Mario Frasca wrote:
> Package: ntp
> Version: 1:4.2.4p0+dfsg-1
> Severity: important
> 
> since quite some time, ntp does not syncronize the internal clock.
> as far as I can see from the logs, it computes the time reset but then
> does not manage to completely sync the time.
> 
> this is an example of such a log:
> May 27 13:29:16 localhost ntpd[3221]: time reset -511.395231 s
> May 27 13:29:16 localhost ntpd[3221]: kernel time sync error 0001

This is this code:
                if (ntp_adjtime(&ntv) == TIME_ERROR) {
                        NLOG(NLOG_SYNCEVENT | NLOG_SYSEVENT)
                            msyslog(LOG_NOTICE,
                            "kernel time sync error %04x", ntv.status);

ntp_adjtime() is a wrapper around adjtimex().  So it returned TIME_ERROR
(TIME_BAD) saying that the clock isn't synchronised.

> at 14:38 on the same day, the needed time reset is around -140s.

This looks like a rather big offset for such a short time.  This seems
to be an error in the order of 30 000 ppm, which is a rather large
number.  I think the kernel has a limit of 500 ppm, which is around 1.8
seconds per hour.

Did you always have this problem, or did this happen since a kernel
upgrade?  Most of the times I see people complain with such an error,
it's a kernel problem.


Kurt