[pkg-ntp-maintainers] Bug#600661: ntp: Uses /var/lib/ntp/ntp.conf.dhcp regardless!?

[Tero Marttila]

Absolutely. /etc/init.d/ntp should not be unconditionally using a stale 
/var/lib/ntp/ntp.conf.dhcp if /etc/ntp.conf has been configured manually.

At the very least, the init script should support disabling the override 
via /etc/default/ntp, which is currently not even possible.

Was bitten by a 10-minute time skew on our NFS server because of this. 
Ancient ntp.conf.dhcp from February during server install. ntpd was 
using obsolete NTP servers which have since been replaced.

It would seem that in some scenarios reconfiguring 
/etc/network/interfaces from dhcp to static after install leaves a stale 
/var/lib/ntp/ntp.conf.dhcp around? Purging /ntp/ntp.conf.dhcp on boot 
would be a start, but in this case, the server has not been rebooted 
once since it was installed...

  -- Tero Marttila