Time Server Setup for a Fedora/RedHat Linux environment

By | February 7, 2015

Having several machines based on Fedora/Redhat, to ensure a smooth functioning of the environment a time server has to be set-up to make sure that all the servers are on the same time.

We are going to use the Fedora/RedHat available time server ntp. On all the servers install the server binaries:

# yum install ntp

Set-up the master time server IP(192.168.1.103)
We designate one server as the master time server that will be used to synchronize with all the other servers. As a result, by changing the time and date on the master time server, all the other servers will be updated to the new values.

Now, we have to make the time server send the time to your other machines.
Edit the file /etc/ntp.conf on the main time server. We have to add a broadcast entry for network by adding the following line:

broadcast 172.255.255.255

Restart ntp on the main time server:

#service ntpd restart

Check using ntpq that the new time broadcast entry is active.
Set-up the slave time servers
Make every other server from the network as client machines that get the time from the main time broadcasting server. On each server,
edit the /etc/ntp.conf file and add a line

server 192.168.1.103

Restart ntp on the every client server:

#service ntpd restart

All servers will have the same time.

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