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    NTP - poor reach after 20 hours

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved General pfSense Questions
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    • johnpozJ
      johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @bingo600
      last edited by

      20 hours is not really a long time when it comes to ntp ;)

      Mine after the clean install has a pretty big offset its still working through... Seeing some steps in the log for ntp..

      I would prob give it a few days.. Then take a look again.. That is what I am doing with mine..

      Give it time to settle down..

      Is this a new instance of pfsense? Has recently been rebooted, etc.. Or has it been up for days arleady?

      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

      F 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
      • F
        farmerjohn @johnpoz
        last edited by

        @johnpoz pfsense has been up for two weeks, but changed NTP to four pool servers from five individual servers from this NTP server list yesterday. I'll wait a few more days to see how it settles in.

        johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • johnpozJ
          johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @farmerjohn
          last edited by johnpoz

          You prob don't need more than 1 pool ;)

          Yeah I am keeping an eye mind as well, since this is a clean install.. I am not sure if anything changed with the ntp client in this update, etc.

          Will follow back in this in a few days.. I am seeing the same thing where reach is just not constant 377.. But also seeing the steps happening the log.. Which will refresh the reach count, etc.

          example:

          Apr 15 10:46:10 	ntpd 	42851 	0.0.0.0 0615 05 clock_sync
          Apr 15 10:46:09 	ntpd 	42851 	0.0.0.0 061c 0c clock_step +0.475341 s 
          

          And offset is horrible currently..

          offset.png

          Prob doesn't help that I just also updated and rebooted my local ntp server ;) But yeah ntp can take a while to setting down..

          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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          • F
            farmerjohn @johnpoz
            last edited by

            @johnpoz said in NTP - poor reach after 20 hours:

            You prob don't need more than 1 pool ;)

            shoud I go ahead and delete the other 3 pools that I have and just use 0.us.pool.ntp.org?

            johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • johnpozJ
              johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @farmerjohn
              last edited by johnpoz

              Well you should prob use the pfsense pool ;)

              The ntp pool allows for vendors to get their own pool names.. And users using pools using the vendors devices should use them... I haven't gotten around to changing mine - doing it now ;)

              0.pfsense.pool.ntp.org

              for example..
              Just changed mine
              changedmine.png

              here is info on the vendor pools
              https://www.pool.ntp.org/en/vendors.html

              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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              • bingo600B
                bingo600
                last edited by bingo600

                This is my linux server

                And i haven't even sync'ed it up to my Tbolt or Samsung or ....
                Just using inet peers.

                /Bingo

                ntpq -p
                     remote           refid      st t when poll reach   delay   offset  jitter
                ==============================================================================
                -n1.taur.dk      .PPS.            1 u  501 1024  377    7.190    0.022   0.841
                +80.71.132.103 ( .GPS.            1 u  868 1024  377    1.821    0.268   0.135
                *mmo2.ntp.se     .PPS.            1 u  971 1024  377    1.972    0.206   0.078
                +78.156.103.10   217.198.219.102  2 u   77 1024  377    7.466    0.240   0.247
                +mail.roostervan 212.99.225.86    2 u   16 1024  377    2.453    0.278   0.100
                -time.cloudflare 10.20.10.78      3 u 1008 1024  377   10.140    0.042   0.113
                

                If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a šŸ‘ - "thumbs up"

                pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                CPUĀ  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                LANĀ  : 4 x Intel 211, DiskĀ  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

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                • johnpozJ
                  johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @bingo600
                  last edited by johnpoz

                  ^ yeah this a normal sort of status you should be seeing.

                  edit: That is some really low delays.. nice!

                  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

                  bingo600B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • bingo600B
                    bingo600 @johnpoz
                    last edited by bingo600

                    @johnpoz

                    My pfSense

                    86627d70-2b91-44d1-b949-394d93893fea-image.png

                    I use pfSense pool for pfSense.

                    But selected servers for my Linux.
                    n1.taur.dk is a friend of mine (also a time-nut) , his server is always "spot on"
                    My linux usually switches between n1.taur & the swedish one.

                    /Bingo

                    If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a šŸ‘ - "thumbs up"

                    pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                    QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                    CPUĀ  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                    LANĀ  : 4 x Intel 211, DiskĀ  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

                    johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • johnpozJ
                      johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @bingo600
                      last edited by

                      yeah those are some really nice low delays - have a nice internet connection ;)

                      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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                      • F
                        farmerjohn @johnpoz
                        last edited by

                        @johnpoz
                        switched over to pfsense.pool 90 min. ago. Here is status so far:

                        [2.5.0-RELEASE][admin@pfsense.home]/var/log: ntpq -p
                             remote           refid      st t when poll reach   delay   offset  jitter
                        ==============================================================================
                         0.pfsense.pool. .POOL.          16 p    -   64    0    0.000   +0.000   0.000
                         time.nullrouten 132.163.97.1     2 u  713  256  344   62.225   +0.955   0.504
                        +tick.nde.unlv.e 98.150.140.243   2 u  390  128  204   71.450   -7.756   2.534
                        +165.227.106.11  200.98.196.212   2 u  673  128  240   40.571   -0.168   3.267
                        *vps1.n1.ca      216.218.192.202  2 u  981  128  200   69.463   +1.543   2.424
                        
                        
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                        • Cool_CoronaC
                          Cool_Corona
                          last edited by

                          a3720d4c-3bcd-4c32-b4b6-2326839437c2-billede.png

                          bingo600B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • bingo600B
                            bingo600 @Cool_Corona
                            last edited by

                            @cool_corona

                            There's quite a bit of jitter on your selected peer.
                            It' only won because it's a Stratum 1.

                            /Bingo

                            If you find my answer useful - Please give the post a šŸ‘ - "thumbs up"

                            pfSense+ 23.05.1 (ZFS)

                            QOTOM-Q355G4 Quad Lan.
                            CPUĀ  : Core i5 5250U, Ram : 8GB Kingston DDR3LV 1600
                            LANĀ  : 4 x Intel 211, DiskĀ  : 240G SAMSUNG MZ7L3240HCHQ SSD

                            F 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                            • F
                              farmerjohn @bingo600
                              last edited by

                              @bingo600 subject of thread is 'poor' reach not 'porn' reach.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • F
                                farmerjohn @johnpoz
                                last edited by

                                @johnpoz
                                i updated from 2.5.0 to 2.5.1. Here is NTP status after 90 minutes after reboot. Hopefully the Scandinavian guys won't try and shame me again with their impressive NTP output.

                                [2.5.1-RELEASE][admin@pfsense.home]/var/log: ntpq -pcrv
                                     remote           refid      st t when poll reach   delay   offset  jitter
                                ==============================================================================
                                 0.pfsense.pool. .POOL.          16 p    -   64    0    0.000   +0.000   0.000
                                +unifi.versadns. 71.66.197.233    2 u  632  128  120   42.354   -2.973   1.580
                                *clock.nyc.he.ne .CDMA.           1 u  453  128  144   37.191   +1.439   1.048
                                
                                associd=0 status=0618 leap_none, sync_ntp, 1 event, no_sys_peer,
                                version="ntpd 4.2.8p15@1.3728-o Fri Feb  5 22:07:56 UTC 2021 (1)",
                                processor="amd64", system="FreeBSD/12.2-STABLE", leap=00, stratum=2,
                                precision=-21, rootdelay=37.191, rootdisp=476.256, refid=209.51.161.238,
                                reftime=e4233dba.ae57b7eb  Thu, Apr 15 2021 18:33:30.681,
                                clock=e42344a7.e24f1d1b  Thu, Apr 15 2021 19:03:03.884, peer=60391, tc=7,
                                mintc=3, offset=+1.048514, frequency=+38.158, sys_jitter=4.679301,
                                clk_jitter=1.975, clk_wander=0.060
                                
                                
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                                • Cool_CoronaC
                                  Cool_Corona
                                  last edited by

                                  995c544e-9933-4faa-90f7-6f117b7b47fa-billede.png

                                  5e148297-707c-412c-aca4-3e432d73eb3f-billede.png

                                  A couple of the connections we have.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • Cool_CoronaC
                                    Cool_Corona
                                    last edited by

                                    Try changing pools

                                    3fd39a38-d3fd-4e95-89b2-cfbac1d646b7-billede.png

                                    Changed mine from dk, se, no to 0,1,2,3.europe.pool.ntp.org

                                    It bettered the jitter quite considerably.

                                    F 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • F
                                      farmerjohn @Cool_Corona
                                      last edited by

                                      @cool_corona
                                      I'll try going back to multiple pool servers (.us.pool.ntp.org) - hopefully that will improve my current situation (status after 19 hours):

                                      [2.5.1-RELEASE][admin@pfsense.home]/var/log: ntpq -pcrv
                                           remote           refid      st t when poll reach   delay   offset  jitter
                                      ==============================================================================
                                       0.pfsense.pool. .POOL.          16 p    -   64    0    0.000   +0.000   0.000
                                      +tock.sol.net    206.55.64.77     3 u  41m  512   20   37.120   +1.937   1.621
                                      -4.53.160.75 (ns 75.76.123.222    3 u 1722  512   70   26.891   +3.313   1.226
                                      *frigg.fancube.c 107.46.198.112   2 u 1581  512   44   43.347   +3.275   2.363
                                      
                                      associd=0 status=0618 leap_none, sync_ntp, 1 event, no_sys_peer,
                                      version="ntpd 4.2.8p15@1.3728-o Fri Feb  5 22:07:56 UTC 2021 (1)",
                                      processor="amd64", system="FreeBSD/12.2-STABLE", leap=00, stratum=3,
                                      precision=-21, rootdelay=49.680, rootdisp=77.172, refid=154.16.245.246,
                                      reftime=e4240ee1.afd0e2c4  Fri, Apr 16 2021  9:25:53.686,
                                      clock=e424150e.f3e02c84  Fri, Apr 16 2021  9:52:14.952, peer=60404, tc=9,
                                      mintc=3, offset=+1.958787, frequency=+37.805, sys_jitter=1.230244,
                                      clk_jitter=3.129, clk_wander=0.225
                                      
                                      
                                      johnpozJ 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • johnpozJ
                                        johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @farmerjohn
                                        last edited by

                                        Make sure your logging your ntp, in the ntp settings.

                                        And look for if ntp is seeing a spike and or resetting for other reasons. Your reaches should be 377, or maybe 1 packet missed now and then, or even a couple..

                                        Those are horrible reach values.. And to be honest, the numbers don't even seem right.. Unless ntp is restarting or you missing a lot of packets..

                                        You shouldn't see numbers like that, unless ntp has reset/restarted and is just starting... Or your loosing a lot of packets in a row..

                                        20 for example, means that you have just restarted and you got 1 packet out of the last 5

                                        10000 = 20 octal

                                        So you have missed the last 4 packets after you got one, and before that you didn't have any.. Or 3 before that was missed 00010000

                                        You really should never see a 20 as it starts up, because it wouldn't count up like that if your getting responses..

                                        Your counts should be
                                        1 = 1
                                        11 = 3
                                        111 = 7
                                        1111 = 17
                                        11111 = 37
                                        111111 = 77
                                        1111111 = 177
                                        11111111 = 377

                                        Your reach values are pointing to a lot of unanswered queries..

                                        your 44 value for example would be this for the last 8 packets..

                                        00100100

                                        So your only getting 1 out of every 3 queries?

                                        70 = 00111000

                                        So you got 3 in a row, and then last 3 nothing..

                                        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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                                        • F
                                          farmerjohn @johnpoz
                                          last edited by farmerjohn

                                          @johnpoz
                                          I enabled the two logging options. here are the last 15 - not sure if 'unreachable' lines are a concern or normal.

                                          [2.5.1-RELEASE][admin@pfsense.home]/var/log: cat ntpd.log | tail -15
                                          Apr 16 11:45:37 pfsense ntpd[76193]: Soliciting pool server 142.147.92.5
                                          Apr 16 11:45:41 pfsense ntpd[76193]: 69.89.207.99 101a 8a sys_peer
                                          Apr 16 11:45:41 pfsense ntpd[76193]: 45.79.51.42 0014 84 reachable
                                          Apr 16 11:46:44 pfsense ntpd[76193]: Soliciting pool server 209.50.63.74
                                          Apr 16 11:47:52 pfsense ntpd[76193]: Soliciting pool server 142.147.92.5
                                          Apr 16 11:49:02 pfsense ntpd[76193]: Soliciting pool server 75.76.123.222
                                          Apr 16 11:49:02 pfsense ntpd[76193]: 75.76.123.222 0011 81 mobilize assoc 33714
                                          Apr 16 11:49:03 pfsense ntpd[76193]: Soliciting pool server 184.105.182.7
                                          Apr 16 11:49:03 pfsense ntpd[76193]: 75.76.123.222 0014 84 reachable
                                          Apr 16 11:50:12 pfsense ntpd[76193]: Soliciting pool server 172.86.181.78
                                          Apr 16 11:51:18 pfsense ntpd[76193]: Soliciting pool server 72.14.181.128
                                          Apr 16 11:52:25 pfsense ntpd[76193]: Soliciting pool server 213.32.40.221
                                          Apr 16 11:52:38 pfsense ntpd[76193]: 216.177.181.129 0014 84 reachable
                                          Apr 16 11:54:29 pfsense ntpd[76193]: 69.89.207.99 0613 83 unreachable
                                          Apr 16 11:55:52 pfsense ntpd[76193]: 45.79.51.42 0013 83 unreachable
                                          
                                          
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                                          • johnpozJ
                                            johnpoz LAYER 8 Global Moderator @farmerjohn
                                            last edited by johnpoz

                                            your prob going to want to look at more than the last 15 entries..

                                            But unreachable isn't good no..

                                            You can tell from your reach numbers your having a real hard time getting responses from the ntp your trying to talk too..

                                            Those numbers your showing for reach values are not indicative of good connectivity.. Take your numbers and convert the octal number to a 8 digit binary and you can see response or no response for the last 8 you have sent.. To that specific IP.. When you are seeing the numbers you are seeing.. You have hard time talking to those ntp servers.. Be it they are not getting your query, or they are not just answering.. But those reach numbers are not good for keeping good time..

                                            edit:
                                            Maybe vs using pool, try some specific one that are in your geographic area
                                            https://support.ntp.org/bin/view/Servers/StratumOneTimeServers
                                            https://support.ntp.org/bin/view/Servers/StratumTwoTimeServers

                                            There are plenty of ntp you can specific point to on the net.. You normally want something close as possible to you, to min the delay. But you for sure need something you can reliably talk too..

                                            Add say time.cloudflare.com

                                            They have like 180+ locations via anycast.. You should be able to hopefully talk to something reliable via that..
                                            https://developers.cloudflare.com/time-services/ntp/usage

                                            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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