ntpd and kernel message set_rtc_mmss: can't update

[Wolfgang S. Rupprecht]

Jeff Vian <jvian10 at charter.net> writes:
> On Sun, 2006-10-22 at 11:46 -0700, Wolfgang S. Rupprecht wrote:
>> "Rob Brown-Bayliss" <uncertain.genius at gmail.com> writes:
>>
>> > [root at localhost ~]# ntpdate
>> > 23 Oct 06:15:35 ntpdate[3869]: no servers can be used, exiting
>> 
>> ntpdate when run from the command line needs the servers listed by
>> hand.  I don't know why it doesn't grab them from ntpd.conf as a
>> default, but it doesn't.  Just grab one or all the servers / peers
>> listed in your /etc/ntp.conf file.  
>> 
> One of us must be a little confused here.
> /etc/init.d/ntpd (which starts ntpd for you at startup) explicitly calls
> nptdate prior to starting ntpd.  It first tries to use the step tickers
> listed in /etc/ntp/step-tickers.  If it cannot use them then it falls
> back to use the servers listed in /etc/ntp.conf.
>
> True, if you run ntpdate manually from the command line you need to
> provide the server for it to connect to.  How many of us really want to
> do it that way?

Notice his command line above.  He wasn't using the ntpd script down
in /etc/init.d, he was typing "ntpdate\n" at the command line.
Invoked like that it isn't going to consult step-tickers for ntp
servers to pester.  That fact that it said "no servers can be used,
exiting" is to be expected.

-wolfgang
-- 
Wolfgang S. Rupprecht                http://www.wsrcc.com/wolfgang/