Ubuntu 20.04 time sync problems and possibly incorrect status information
I have been having some problems with crashes on my KVM host (Lubuntu 20.04), and when troubleshooting, I noticed some time-related errors. Upon further investigation, to my horror, I saw that time was not being synced. I am sure it was set up before, I have no clue how it became un-setup.
admin@virtland:~$ sudo timedatectl [sudo] password for admin: Local time: Fri 2020-07-10 09:14:14 EDT Universal time: Fri 2020-07-10 13:14:14 UTC RTC time: Fri 2020-07-10 13:14:14 Time zone: America/New_York (EDT, -0400) System clock synchronized: no NTP service: n/a RTC in local TZ: no admin@virtland:~$ admin@virtland:~$ sudo systemctl stop ntp admin@virtland:~$ sudo ntpd -gq 10 Jul 09:17:57 ntpd[34358]: ntpd 4.2.8p12@1.3728-o (1): Starting 10 Jul 09:17:57 ntpd[34358]: Command line: ntpd -gq 10 Jul 09:17:57 ntpd[34358]: proto: precision = 0.070 usec (-24) 10 Jul 09:17:57 ntpd[34358]: leapsecond file ('/usr/share/zoneinfo/leap-seconds.list'): good hash signature 10 Jul 09:17:57 ntpd[34358]: leapsecond file ('/usr/share/zoneinfo/leap-seconds.list'): loaded, expire=2020-12-28T00:00:00Z last=2017-01-01T00:00:00Z ofs=37 10 Jul 09:17:57 ntpd[34358]: Listen and drop on 0 v6wildcard [::]:123 10 Jul 09:17:57 ntpd[34358]: Listen and drop on 1 v4wildcard 0.0.0.0:123 10 Jul 09:17:57 ntpd[34358]: Listen normally on 2 lo 127.0.0.1:123 10 Jul 09:17:57 ntpd[34358]: Listen normally on 3 enp6s0 10.0.0.18:123 10 Jul 09:17:57 ntpd[34358]: Listen normally on 4 lo [::1]:123 10 Jul 09:17:57 ntpd[34358]: Listen normally on 5 enp6s0 [fe80::7285:c2ff:fe65:9f19%3]:123 10 Jul 09:17:57 ntpd[34358]: Listening on routing socket on fd #22 for interface updates 10 Jul 09:17:58 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 209.50.63.74 10 Jul 09:17:59 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 4.53.160.75 10 Jul 09:18:00 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 69.89.207.199 10 Jul 09:18:00 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 72.30.35.88 10 Jul 09:18:01 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 173.0.48.220 10 Jul 09:18:01 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 162.159.200.1 10 Jul 09:18:01 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 108.61.73.243 10 Jul 09:18:02 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 208.79.89.249 10 Jul 09:18:02 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 208.67.75.242 10 Jul 09:18:02 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 91.189.94.4 10 Jul 09:18:03 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 91.189.89.198 10 Jul 09:18:03 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 67.217.112.181 10 Jul 09:18:04 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 91.189.89.199 10 Jul 09:18:04 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 64.225.34.103 10 Jul 09:18:05 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 91.189.91.157 10 Jul 09:18:06 ntpd[34358]: Soliciting pool server 2001:67c:1560:8003::c8 10 Jul 09:18:06 ntpd[34358]: ntpd: time slew +0.001834 s ntpd: time slew +0.001834s admin@virtland:~$ sudo service ntp start admin@virtland:~$ sudo timedatectl Local time: Fri 2020-07-10 09:18:21 EDT Universal time: Fri 2020-07-10 13:18:21 UTC RTC time: Fri 2020-07-10 13:18:21 Time zone: America/New_York (EDT, -0400) System clock synchronized: no NTP service: n/a RTC in local TZ: no admin@virtland:~$ I thought maybe I needed to use some more up-to-date instructions, so I tried this: https://linuxconfig.org/how-to-sync-time-on-ubuntu-20-04-focal-fossa-linux
admin@virtland:~$ timedatectl set-ntp off Failed to set ntp: NTP not supported admin@virtland:~$ timedatectl set-ntp on Failed to set ntp: NTP not supported admin@virtland:~$ sudo systemctl status systemd-timesyncd.service [sudo] password for admin: ● systemd-timesyncd.service Loaded: masked (Reason: Unit systemd-timesyncd.service is masked.) Active: inactive (dead) cat /etc/systemd/timesyncd.conf # This file is part of systemd. # # systemd is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it # under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by # the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or # (at your option) any later version. # # Entries in this file show the compile time defaults. # You can change settings by editing this file. # Defaults can be restored by simply deleting this file. # # See timesyncd.conf(5) for details. [Time] #NTP= #FallbackNTP=ntp.ubuntu.com #RootDistanceMaxSec=5 #PollIntervalMinSec=32 #PollIntervalMaxSec=2048 I checked timedatectl again, and now it is on, but still not using NTP. I understand that NTP is more precise, and that can be important in some situations. Not sure if virtualization with pci passthrough needs extremely precise time or not. From other stuff I was reading, I thought maybe NTP was conflicting with timesyncd. So remove ntp for the time being:
sudo systemctl stop ntp sudo apt-get purge ntp admin@virtland:~$ timedatectl Local time: Fri 2020-07-10 09:34:52 EDT Universal time: Fri 2020-07-10 13:34:52 UTC RTC time: Fri 2020-07-10 13:34:52 Time zone: America/New_York (EDT, -0400) System clock synchronized: yes NTP service: active RTC in local TZ: no admin@virtland:~$ sudo systemctl start ntp Failed to start ntp.service: Unit ntp.service not found. Apologies for not asking a more focused question, but what the heck is going on here? I am well and truly lost. Also, I will edit this post later and make a not as to whether removing NTP (and thus activating it?!) fixed the stability problems that led me down this rabbit hole. Edit: The next thing I did was disable ntp on timesyncd and (re)install NTP as described here. https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-time-synchronization-on-ubuntu-18-04 That resulted in:
admin@virtland:~$ ntpq -p remote refid st t when poll reach delay offset jitter ============================================================================== 0.us.pool.ntp.o .POOL. 16 p - 64 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.us.pool.ntp.o .POOL. 16 p - 64 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.us.pool.ntp.o .POOL. 16 p - 64 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 3.us.pool.ntp.o .POOL. 16 p - 64 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.ubuntu.pool.n .POOL. 16 p - 64 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 1.ubuntu.pool.n .POOL. 16 p - 64 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.ubuntu.pool.n .POOL. 16 p - 64 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 3.ubuntu.pool.n .POOL. 16 p - 64 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 ntp.ubuntu.com .POOL. 16 p - 64 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 admin@virtland:~$ timedatectl Local time: Fri 2020-07-10 10:35:39 EDT Universal time: Fri 2020-07-10 14:35:39 UTC RTC time: Fri 2020-07-10 14:35:40 Time zone: America/New_York (EDT, -0400) System clock synchronized: no NTP service: n/a RTC in local TZ: no admin@virtland:~$ systemctl status systemd-timesyncd ● systemd-timesyncd.service Loaded: masked (Reason: Unit systemd-timesyncd.service is masked.) Active: inactive (dead) admin@virtland:~$ nano /etc/ntp.conf admin@virtland:~$ systemctl status systemd-timesyncd ● systemd-timesyncd.service Loaded: masked (Reason: Unit systemd-timesyncd.service is masked.) Active: inactive (dead) admin@virtland:~$ ntpstat unsynchronised polling server every 8 s boss@virtland:~$ sudo systemctl stop ntp Failed to stop ntp.service: Unit ntp.service not loaded. boss@virtland:~$ sudo timedatectl set-ntp yes boss@virtland:~$ sudo timedatectl set-ntp on boss@virtland:~$ ntpq -p bash: /usr/bin/ntpq: No such file or directory boss@virtland:~$ systemctl status systemd-timesyncd ● systemd-timesyncd.service - Network Time Synchronization Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/systemd-timesyncd.service; enabled; > Active: active (running) since Fri 2020-07-10 10:49:18 EDT; 50s ago Docs: man:systemd-timesyncd.service(8) Main PID: 108365 (systemd-timesyn) Status: "Initial synchronization to time server 91.189.94.4:123 (ntp.ubu> Tasks: 2 (limit: 154317) Memory: 1.8M CGroup: /system.slice/systemd-timesyncd.service └─108365 /lib/systemd/systemd-timesyncd Jul 10 10:49:17 virtland systemd[1]: Starting Network Time Synchronization. Jul 10 10:49:18 virtland systemd[1]: Started Network Time Synchronization. Jul 10 10:49:18 virtland systemd-timesyncd[108365]: Initial synchronization t> lines 1-14/14 (END) timedatectl Local time: Fri 2020-07-10 10:52:56 EDT Universal time: Fri 2020-07-10 14:52:56 UTC RTC time: Fri 2020-07-10 14:52:56 Time zone: America/New_York (EDT, -0400) System clock synchronized: yes NTP service: active RTC in local TZ: no So I guess it is working. Since the crashes that took me down this path are still happening, I guess the time wasn’t the issue.
NTP not syncing, only syncs on service restart
My ubuntu 11.10 server has been sitting there quite happily for the last 3 — 4 months, then suddenly the time started going out of sync by one hour. I’m not sure why, nothing has changed re the configuration of the server, i read it can be down to system resource useage. Anyway to counteract this Ive seen a lot of people recommend installing NTP and the NTP daemon (ntpd) so that the time will be synced automatically. i have installed NTPD and it seems to work for a day, then suddenly stops working. after around a day when i do
ntpq: read: Connection refused * Stopping NTP server ntpd start-stop-daemon: warning: failed to kill 26915: No such process * Starting NTP server ntpd once i have done this within about 5 mins the time is synced again. If i restart the service again i do not get the above message i just get
* Stopping NTP server ntpd * Starting NTP server ntpd remote refid st t when poll reach delay offset jitter ============================================================================== noc.be.it2go.eu 193.190.230.66 2 u 43 64 3 10.819 -353184 0.183 panoramix.linoc 193.67.79.202 2 u 41 64 3 24.647 -353186 0.178 nsb.lds.net.ua 160.45.10.8 2 u 39 64 3 68.545 -353186 0.001 europium.canoni 193.79.237.14 2 u 38 64 3 1.222 -353186 0.096 its almost like restarting the service kicks it in to action, yet around a day later i will have to do the same thing all over again as the time will have stopped syncing. here is what is in the logfile
13 Feb 11:18:38 ntpd[27108]: ntpd exiting on signal 15 14 Feb 11:44:30 ntpd[1872]: ntpd exiting on signal 15 15 Feb 10:16:25 ntpd[26869]: ntpd exiting on signal 15 16 Feb 05:26:41 ntpd[26915]: 158.37.91.134 interface xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx -> xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx 16 Feb 05:51:41 ntpd[26915]: 158.37.91.134 interface xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx -> xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx 16 Feb 10:14:30 ntpd[23793]: ntpd exiting on signal 15 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29251]: ntpd 4.2.6p2@1.2194-o Fri Jun 17 06:06:35 UTC 2011 (1) Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: proto: precision = 0.118 usec Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: ntp_io: estimated max descriptors: 1024, initial socket boundary: 16 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: Listen and drop on 0 v4wildcard 0.0.0.0 UDP 123 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: Listen and drop on 1 v6wildcard :: UDP 123 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: Listen normally on 2 lo 127.0.0.1 UDP 123 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: Listen normally on 3 eth0 xx.xxx.xxx.xxx UDP 123 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: Listen normally on 4 eth0:1 xx.xxx.xxx.xxx UDP 123 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: Listen normally on 5 eth0:2 xx.xxx.xxx.xxx UDP 123 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: Listen normally on 6 eth0:3 xx.xxx.xxx.xxxUDP 123 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: Listen normally on 7 eth0:4 xx.xxx.xxx.xxx UDP 123 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: Listen normally on 8 eth0:5 xx.xxx.xxx.xxx UDP 123 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: Listen normally on 9 eth0:6 xx.xxx.xxx.xxx UDP 123 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: Listen normally on 10 eth0:7 xx.xxx.xxx.xxx UDP 123 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: Listen normally on 11 eth0:8 xx.xxx.xxx.xxx UDP 123 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: Listen normally on 12 eth0 fe80::250:56ff:fea1:41 UDP 123 Feb 13 11:18:40 serverx ntpd[29252]: Listen normally on 13 lo ::1 UDP 123