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 Documentation\Configuration\Clients\Windows\UNIX and Linux Clients

Domain Time II Clients for 'NIX, Linux, and FreeBSD

     


          IMPORTANT: End of Support Notice:
          domtimed Clients for UNIX, Solaris, Linux, and FreeBSD have reached their end-of-support date. The versions listed here are the final release builds. No further support, upgrades, fixes, or code updates will be provided. These items are provided for backwards-compatibility only. For current Linux clients, see DTLinux v5.2

     
    Advantages to using a Domain Time II daemon
    There are many advantages to using a Domain Time II daemon:

      • Easy to configure and manage
      • Can discover Domain Time II servers automatically (see Discovery Process for more info)
      • Interoperate with Domain Time II Management tools to generate automatic non-sync'd alerts, network-wide variance reports, and remote sync-on-demand
      • Integrates with Domain Time II Audit Server to provide clear audit trail of time synchronization and non-syncronization alerts.
      • Provides automatic fall-back options in the event a time server is unavailable
      • Keep logs with adjustable levels of detail
      • Support automatic installation on many UNIX and Linux flavors (rpm, pkgadd, etc.)

      There are native Domain Time II client daemons available for the following flavors of UNIX and Linux:

      Solaris


      • Domain Time II Client daemon for Solaris 7 and later (i386)

      Linux


      • Domain Time II Client daemon for RedHat (i386)
      • Domain Time II Client daemon for SuSE (i386)
      • Domain Time II Client Generic daemon for other flavors (i386)

    64-bit support
    There are currently no native 64-bit client daemons, however, the above builds will often work with similar architecture (ie. i386 RedHat builds will run on most x64 RedHat versions).

    Unsupported/Retired versions
    You will find other builds for versions not mentioned above in the download areas. Unless specifically mentioned above, these are unsupported builds. You are welcome to try them if you find you need them in your environment, but they may not work. "Unsupported" means exactly that: No technical support or upgrades are available for these builds.

    These include:

    • Domain Time II Client daemon for FreeBSD
    • Domain Time II Client daemon for Debian, TurboLinux, and others

    Installing and Configuring the Domain Time II daemon (domtimed)
    Instructions for installing the domtimed daemon are contained in the README file, and configuration options are found in the domtimed.conf file included in the distribution download.

    Note: The domtimed daemon uses the system's hostid variable to create a serial number used by Domain Time II Audit Server to track individual machines. The serial numbers used must be unique to each machine. However, some flavors of Linux default to a null Host ID value, other use the MAC address of the network adapter (which can cause problems if the machine is running as a virtual machine). You should ensure your system has a unique Host Id before attempting to audit the machine using Domain Time II Audit Server.

     

    Sample README file
    
      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                      D O M A I N   T I M E   II   C L I E N T 
                      Versions for Linux, Solaris, and others
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    Symmetricom, Inc.
    3750 Westwind Blvd
    Santa Rosa, CA 95403
    
           Voice:  (800) 328-1230 (toll free in US only)
           Voice:  (707) 528-1230
             Fax:  (707) 527-6640
    Tech Support:  service@symmetricom.com
           Sales:  sales@symmetricom.com
    
    This program is NOT freeware.  It is shareware distributed on a try-before-
    you-buy basis.  This is the honor system; please honor it.  Since Domain Time
    is a critical system service, the evaluation version does not time out or stop
    operating after the evaluation period has expired.   If you keep using the
    software after the evaluation period expires, please register it.
    
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        S E T U P    I N S T R U C T I O N S 
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    
       1.  Obtain the appropriate package for your distribution from Symmetricom. 
    
       2.  For RPM-based Linux systems (RedHat, Fedora, SUSE, etc.)
    
           Install:    rpm -i 
           Remove:     rpm -e domtimed
           Upgrade:    rpm -U 
    
           Substitute the name of your distribution file for  in the
           above lines.
    
           You may also use gnorpm or kpackage if these tools are available on
           your system
    
       3.  For Solaris:
    
           Install:    pkgadd -d 
           Remove:     pkgrm domtimed
           Upgrade:    Remove and reinstall
    
           Substitute the name of your distribution file for  in the
           above lines.
    
       4.  For manual installation on any i386 Linux system
    
           a.  Download the .tgz archive to an empty directory your system
           b.  Run tar -xzvf .tgz to unpack
           c.  Put domtimed.conf in your /etc directory and edit it for your needs
           d.  Put the man pages in the appropriate man directories
           e.  Put domtimed and dtcheck in /usr/sbin or similar directory
           f.  Set domtimed to start automatically on boot after network is up 
           g.  Start domtimed manually for now
           h.  Run dtcheck to test
           i.  Examine /var/log/domtimed.log for messages
           j.  Reboot and check the log to verify the service restarted properly
    
           Manual removal:
    
           a.  Stop the domtimed service (i.e. "pkill domtimed")
           b.  Disable domtimed from auto-executing (i.e. "chkconfig domtimed off") 
               and remove any auto-startup scripts and symlinks from your runlevel 
               startup script folders
           c.  Delete these files (these are common filenames and locations; 
               your system may vary):
    
               /etc/domtimed.conf
               /etc/[rc.d/]init.d/domtimed
               /usr/sbin/domtimed
               /usr/sbin/dtcheck
               /usr/share/man/man3/dtcheck.3.gz
               /usr/share/man/man8/domtimed.8.gz
               /var/log/domtimed.log
    
    
    Other distros (the latest builds may not be available for these):
    
       []  For DEB-based systems (Debian, Stormix)
    
           Install:    dpkg -i {filename}
           Remove:     dpkg -r domtimed
           GUI Remove: Run dselect, choose domtimed and click remove
           Upgrade:    Remove, stop service and reinstall
    
           After installing or reinstalling, you will need to either manually
           start the service, or reboot the machine.
    
       []  For FreeBSD
    
           Install:    pkg_add {filename}
           Remove:     pkg_delete domtimed
           Upgrade:    Remove and reinstall
    
       []  For Slackware
    
           Install:    Run pkgtool
                       Choose "Install packages from the current directory"
                       Find domtimed on the list
                       Click OK
    
                       You may also use installpkg from the command line
    
           Remove:     Run pkgtool
                       Choose "Remove packages that are currently installed"
                       Find domtimed on the list
                       Click OK
    
                       You may also use removepkg from the command line
    
           Upgrade:    Remove and reinstall
    
    
      
     

    Sample domtimed.conf File


    #
    # ----- description
    #
    
    ' domtimed.conf - config file for Domain Time II daemon.  This file
    ' must be named /etc/domtimed.conf to be recognized by the daemon.
    
    ' daemon may be started from your rc files, or run (with root privs)
    ' on demand.  The daemon will continue running in the background
    ' until reboot or until killed manually.
    
    ' Values are read on startup.  Use kill -HUP to reload while the
    ' daemon is running.
    
    ' Blank lines and lines beginning with #, ; or ' are ignored.  Format
    ' for valid lines is keyword=value.  Comments may be added after any
    ' value by putting one or more spaces between the value and the comment
    
    #
    # ----- logging
    #
    
    ' LogFileName is the name of our output file
    ' LogSize is the max size (in KB) for the log file
    ' LogLevel range is 0 to 4
    '    0 = no log
    '    1 = errors only
    '    2 = errors and warnings only
    '    3 = errors, warnings, and info
    '    4 = debug
    
    LogFile  = /var/log/domtimed.log	' name of log file
    LogSize  = 64				' zero means no limit
    LogLevel = 3				' loglevel
    
    #
    # ----- clock management
    #
    
    ' If ManageClock is FALSE, the daemon will assume that some other
    ' process (xntp or similar) is taking care of clock corrections, so
    ' the daemon will NOT check or correct the clock, and will ignore
    ' the rest of the settings in this file.
    
    ' If ManageClock is TRUE, the daemon will use the settings in this
    ' file to check and correct this machine's clock.
    
    ' If ManageClock is TRUE, and TestMode is also TRUE, then the daemon
    ' will go through all the motions of managing the clock, but never
    ' actually change the time.  If TestMode is FALSE, then the daemon
    ' will change the system time as necessary.
    
    ManageClock = True
    TestMode    = False
    
    #
    # ----- auto discovery
    #
    
    AutoConfig         = True	' try to find a server
    UseDHCP            = False	' check DHCP 042 and 004 for servers
    AutoConfigFallback = True	' if discovery fails, use listed servers
    
    #
    # ----- DT2 compatibility
    #
    
    RespondToDTCheck       = True	' respond to DTCheck queries
    IgnoreCascadeTriggers  = False	' don't sync on master/slave cascades
    IgnoreAdvisoryTriggers = False	' don't sync on slave advisory triggers
    HonorPulse             = True	' sync when DT2 heartbeat pulse seen
    
    #
    # ----- clock control
    #
    
    ' MaxDisparity is always ignored on first timeset after startup, and
    ' when a directed sync signal is received (i.e., from DT Manager or
    ' DTCheck).  Otherwise MaxDisparity controls the maximum variance that
    ' will be corrected when domtimed checks the time on its own intiative.
    ' Setting MaxDisparity to zero means always accept any amount of
    ' correction.
    
    ' If AutoSchedule is TRUE, the SuccessInterval setting is taken as
    ' the maximum time to wait before checking again, and FailureInterval
    ' is taken as the minimum time.  AutoSchedule will pick a delay time
    ' between these two values appropriate to minimizing the amount of
    ' future corrections.
    
    ' If AutoSchedule is FALSE, the SuccessInterval and FailureInterval
    ' settings will be used as given.
    
    ' All settings are in seconds, except MinDisparity and MaxSlew, which
    ' are given in milliseconds.
    
    ' NOTE:  Most Linux machines cannot slew greater than half a second
    ' (500 milliseconds) reliably.  Solaris machines always set to the
    ' nearest second first, then slew up to half a second for the
    ' final correction.  Slewing can take a LONG time if the correction
    ' is greater than a quarter second or so.  Do not set the MaxSlew
    ' value above 250 without a really good reason, and do not set it
    ' above 499 unless you know your system can handle a slew that big. 
    
    MaxDisparity    = 3600		' ignore corrections larger than this
    MinDisparity    = 1		' ignore corrections smaller than this
    MaxSlew         = 125		' slew if change is this amount or less
    SuccessInterval = 7200		' if got the time, check again this often
    FailureInterval = 60		' if couldn't get time, check again in
    AutoSchedule    = True		' calculate SuccessInterval as necessary
    
    #
    # ----- servers to use
    #
    
    ' These servers are used only if AutoConfig (see above) is FALSE, or
    ' if AutoConfig AND AutoConfigFallback are TRUE and auto-discovery
    ' could not find any servers to use.  Specify up to eight servers,
    ' in the form serverx=servername,protocol, where x is the number of
    ' the server (1 to 8), servername is the DNS name or IP number of a
    ' time server, and protocol is one of the following:
    '
    '    NTP        -- RFC 1769 NTP/SNTP protocol
    '    DT2        -- Domain Time II protocol
    '    TIME-UDP   -- RFC 868 using UDP
    '    TIME-TCP   -- RFC 868 using TCP
    '
    ' Servers will be used in the order listed, stopping after the first
    ' one that responds with a valid time.  Do not put any spaces or tabs
    ' around the comma separating the server name from the protocol!
    
    Server1 = time.nist.gov,NTP
    Server2 = clepsydra.dec.com,NTP
    Server3 = tick.greyware.com,DT2
    Server4 = tick.greyware.com,NTP
    Server5 = tock.greyware.com,DT2
    Server6 = tock.greyware.com,NTP
    Server7 = 
    Server8 =
    
    #
    # ----- end of domtimed.conf file
    #
    
    

     

Domain Time II Software distributed by Microsemi, Inc.
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