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    NTP is wrong by almost 3 minutes.

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
    30 Posts 10 Posters 7.1k Views
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    • johnpozJ
      johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
      last edited by

      is your ntp widget counting.. Or is it stuck there?

      I just added the widget, and then called up that nist page in another window and put them side by side and they show exact same time

      I assume that page is pulling time from the ntp server and pfsense time.. But its a browser thing - maybe its pulling time from your local machine?  Clearly what you posted is that the time is insync with its source only off by a few ms..

      Off the top not sure would could account for the difference other than browser stuck not refreshing, etc.?

      If you want to do a live check to see if pfsense clock is off you could use ntpdate in test mode with the -d and point it to the IP of any ntp server you want to check it against

      example

      
      [2.3.2-RELEASE][root@pfsense.local.lan]/root: ntpdate -d 192.168.9.32
      21 Dec 14:06:02 ntpdate[45505]: ntpdate 4.2.8p8@1.3265-o Fri Jun 10 15:40:54 UTC 2016 (1)
      transmit(192.168.9.32)
      receive(192.168.9.32)
      transmit(192.168.9.32)
      receive(192.168.9.32)
      transmit(192.168.9.32)
      receive(192.168.9.32)
      transmit(192.168.9.32)
      receive(192.168.9.32)
      server 192.168.9.32, port 123
      stratum 1, precision -20, leap 00, trust 000
      refid [PPS], delay 0.02609, dispersion 0.00006
      transmitted 4, in filter 4
      reference time:    dc055f21.f87dc034  Wed, Dec 21 2016 14:05:53.970
      originate timestamp: dc055f30.d2941d7d  Wed, Dec 21 2016 14:06:08.822
      transmit timestamp:  dc055f30.d28388c7  Wed, Dec 21 2016 14:06:08.822
      filter delay:  0.02675  0.02632  0.02617  0.02609
               0.00000  0.00000  0.00000  0.00000
      filter offset: -0.00018 -0.00018 -0.00009 -0.00007
               0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000
      delay 0.02609, dispersion 0.00006
      offset -0.000070
      
      21 Dec 14:06:08 ntpdate[45505]: adjust time server 192.168.9.32 offset -0.000070 sec
      [2.3.2-RELEASE][root@pfsense.local.lan]/root:
      
      

      21 Dec 14:06:08 ntpdate[45505]: adjust time server 192.168.9.32 offset -0.000070 sec

      so you see there my pfsense says its off by 70 us from my ntp server..

      timediff.jpg
      timediff.jpg_thumb

      An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
      If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
      Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
      SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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      • P
        pfBasic Banned
        last edited by

        ok thanks ill run that check, and no it isn't stuck, all three of the times pulled up in webpages on that screenshot were counting seconds.

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        • P
          pfBasic Banned
          last edited by

          I ran ti twice, here is the output, I noticed at the end of the first run, after it gives me the offset time it says "325 sec", whats taht about?

          ntpdate -d time.nist.gov
          21 Dec 12:27:10 ntpdate[90838]: ntpdate 4.2.8p8@1.3265-o Tue Jul 19 16:25:10 UTC                                                                                                                                                              2016 (1)
          transmit(128.138.141.172)
          receive(128.138.141.172)
          transmit(128.138.141.172)
          receive(128.138.141.172)
          transmit(128.138.141.172)
          receive(128.138.141.172)
          transmit(128.138.141.172)
          receive(128.138.141.172)
          server 128.138.141.172, port 123
          stratum 1, precision -29, leap 00, trust 000
          refid [NIST], delay 0.09991, dispersion 0.00021
          transmitted 4, in filter 4
          reference time:    dc0563c9.00000000  Wed, Dec 21 2016 12:25:45.000
          originate timestamp: dc056424.63b52a21  Wed, Dec 21 2016 12:27:16.389
          transmit timestamp:  dc056424.5befb402  Wed, Dec 21 2016 12:27:16.359
          filter delay:  0.09991  0.09993  0.10071  0.10135
                   0.00000  0.00000  0.00000  0.00000
          filter offset: -0.00832 -0.00838 -0.00796 -0.00751
                   0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000
          delay 0.09991, dispersion 0.00021
          offset -0.008325
          
          21 Dec 12:27:16 ntpdate[90838]: adjust time server 128.138.141.172 offset -0.008   sec  325 sec  
          ``` 
          
          

          ntpdate -d time.nist.gov
          21 Dec 12:32:39 ntpdate[16340]: ntpdate 4.2.8p8@1.3265-o Tue Jul 19 16:25:10 UTC                                                                                                                                                              2016 (1)
          transmit(129.6.15.30)
          receive(129.6.15.30)
          transmit(129.6.15.30)
          transmit(129.6.15.30)
          receive(129.6.15.30)
          transmit(129.6.15.30)
          transmit(129.6.15.30)
          server 129.6.15.30, port 123
          stratum 1, precision -29, leap 00, trust 000
          refid [ACTS], delay 0.15990, dispersion 24.00020
          transmitted 4, in filter 4
          reference time:    dc056561.1ebacc2a  Wed, Dec 21 2016 12:32:33.120
          originate timestamp: dc05656b.6a52fae8  Wed, Dec 21 2016 12:32:43.415
          transmit timestamp:  dc05656d.512dbb90  Wed, Dec 21 2016 12:32:45.317
          filter delay:  0.15997  0.00000  0.15990  0.00000
                  0.00000  0.00000  0.00000  0.00000
          filter offset: 0.030677 0.000000 0.031073 0.000000
                  0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000
          delay 0.15990, dispersion 24.00020
          offset 0.031073

          21 Dec 12:32:47 ntpdate[16340]: adjust time server 129.6.15.30 offset 0.031073 s                                                                                                                                                            ec

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          • johnpozJ
            johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator
            last edited by

            Not sure, don't think ever seen anything like that before.

            You can see it sends 4 queries, and shows your offset from all 4 off them

            filter offset: -0.00832 -0.00838 -0.00796 -0.00751

            So not sure where that odd 325 display would come from??

            An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools
            If you get confused: Listen to the Music Play
            Please don't Chat/PM me for help, unless mod related
            SG-4860 24.11 | Lab VMs 2.8, 24.11

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            • P
              pfBasic Banned
              last edited by

              Any guesses as to why I am seeing such a big difference?

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • KOMK
                KOM
                last edited by

                Grasping at straws, but is the hardware clock on the unit itself correct?

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • P
                  pfBasic Banned
                  last edited by

                  I dont know, how could I check that?

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • KOMK
                    KOM
                    last edited by

                    If it's a PC of some type then I would look in the BIOS.  If it's something else then I don't know.

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                    • dennypageD
                      dennypage
                      last edited by

                      I hate to ask stupid questions, but there are some basics…

                      1. Ignoring the NTP widget for the moment, what is shown as the current date/time in the System Information widget? Does it agree or disagree with www.time.gov?

                      2. Have you cleared your browser's cache?

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                      • w0wW
                        w0w
                        last edited by

                        To eliminate all possible browser cache problems just go to    Diagnostics ->Command Prompt
                        type "date" without quotes and wait for the answer.
                        Or do the same in shell…

                        I don't think it's related to any cache just because in logs we already have

                        "21 Dec 12:27:16 ntpdate[90838]: adjust time server 128.138.141.172 offset -0.008  sec  325 sec"

                        To check what hardware clocks you have run
                        dmesg | grep timer

                        and/or

                        sysctl kern.timecounter

                        You should see all possible timers and counters found and/or used by system. You can also change it to desired, tuning kern.timecounter.hardware.
                        Read https://www.freebsd.org/doc/en/books/faq/troubleshoot.html

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                        • P
                          pfBasic Banned
                          last edited by

                          Thanks all, the System Information Widget was also wrong.

                          w0w's suggestion seems to have fixed system time.

                          : dmesg | grep Timecounter
                          Timecounter "i8254" frequency 1193182 Hz quality 0
                          Timecounter "HPET" frequency 14318180 Hz quality 950
                          Timecounter "ACPI-fast" frequency 3579545 Hz quality 900
                          Timecounters tick every 1.000 msec
                          Timecounter "TSC-low" frequency 1546529202 Hz quality 1000
                          
                          
                          : sysctl kern.timecounter.hardware=HPET
                          kern.timecounter.hardware: TSC-low -> HPET
                          
                          

                          So now System time matches time.gov, however NTP time remains the same although I don't know if this will fix itself given a little time? I restarted the service but the NTP offset remains the same.

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                          • A
                            AR15USR
                            last edited by

                            I'm seeing the same issue with the NTP time being off by 5mins. Never noticed that till now. My system clock matches the NIST time though.

                            Running 'date' from the command prompt returns the system time which is correct to the NIST time. The NTP widget is 5 mins off


                            2.6.0-RELEASE

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                            • A
                              AR15USR
                              last edited by

                              I just polled the ntp server pool I'm using (pool.ntp.org) and it is off by the same 5 mins.

                              sntp 0.pool.ntp.org

                              When I poll nist it shows the same 5 minute discrepancy

                              sntp 128.138.141.172


                              2.6.0-RELEASE

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                              • A
                                AR15USR
                                last edited by

                                If anyone is interested I switched my ntp servers from ntp.org to the NIST servers and the discrepancy has resolved itself..


                                2.6.0-RELEASE

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                                • P
                                  pfBasic Banned
                                  last edited by

                                  That is interesting.

                                  I have been using time.nist.gov for a few days now and my NTP time is still off by a few minutes. System time now matches up but NTP has not resolved itself, I restarted the service over a day ago and it is still off by a few minutes.

                                  Anyone know what the root problem is here, especially now that I am apparently not the only one seeing some issues with time?

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                                  • A
                                    AR15USR
                                    last edited by

                                    I'm sure you do, but just to check you do have your machines set to use your pfsense as the ntp time server?


                                    2.6.0-RELEASE

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                                    • P
                                      pfBasic Banned
                                      last edited by

                                      Some of them are and some aren't what I'm looking at is that the NTP time widget on my pfSense box is not syncing up with time.gov, even though it is using NIST for NTP. My system clock is synced up.

                                      Also, my machines that are using pfsense for time match the incorrect pfsense time widget exactly.

                                      My machines that are not using pfsense for time (cellphone, laptop) match time.gov exactly.

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                                      • w0wW
                                        w0w
                                        last edited by

                                        I just successfully tested time.nist.gov sync without any issue.
                                        Please provide the output of
                                        more /var/etc/ntpd.conf

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                                        • S
                                          shinzo
                                          last edited by

                                          I was having the same problem, running on 2.4 i would select to run NTP on the Lan side and it would never sync.  If i manually sync'ed then it would work.

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                                          • stan-qazS
                                            stan-qaz
                                            last edited by

                                            Some of the NTP tools included with pfSense can be a big help in figuring out what is going wrong. The place to start is likely ntpq:

                                            [2.3.2-RELEASE][root@pfSense.home]/root: ntpq -p
                                                 remote           refid      st t when poll reach   delay   offset  jitter
                                            ==============================================================================
                                            *pi-v1.home      .GPS0.           1 u   12   64  377    0.420   -0.034   0.008
                                            +hp400.home      172.16.0.4       2 u   44   64  377    0.412    5.662   0.782
                                            +ntp.cox.net     .GPS.            1 u   14   64  377   51.577    1.667   0.452
                                            

                                            The above shows that I am syncing with my Pi while my hp server and Cox Cable NTP servers are available as fallbacks.

                                            The first column is the sync status and is covered in the http://www.ntp.org/ documentation. If you are not selecting servers and syncing to one of them you have a starting place to look for your problem.

                                            I'd go look at at least the quick start at ntp.org and select either a pool or at least three servers to sync to before going on to look for other issues.

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