ntptrace(8) System Manager's Manual ntptrace(8)
NAME
ntptrace - Traces a chain of NTP hosts back to their master time source
SYNOPSIS
/usr/sbin/ntptrace [-dnv] [-r retries] [-t timeout] [server]
OPTIONS
Turns on some debugging output. Turns off the printing of host names; instead, host IP addresses are given. This may be necessary if a
nameserver is down. Sets the number of retransmission attempts for each host; default = 5. Sets the retransmission timeout (in seconds);
default = 2. Prints verbose information about the NTP servers.
DESCRIPTION
The ntptrace command determines where a given Network Time Protocol (NTP) server gets its time from, and follows the chain of NTP servers
back to their master time source. If given no arguments, it starts with localhost.
The following is an example of the output from ntptrace: % ntptrace localhost: stratum 4, offset 0.0019529, synch distance 0.144135
server2.bozo.com: stratum 2, offset 0.0124263, synch distance 0.115784 usndh.edu: stratum 1, offset 0.0019298, synch distance 0.011993,
refid 'WWVB'
On each line, the fields are (left to right): the host name, the host's stratum, the time offset between that host and the local host (as
measured by ntptrace; this is why it is not always zero for localhost), the host's synchronization distance, and (only for stratum-1
servers) the reference clock ID. All times are given in seconds. (Synchronization distance is a measure of the goodness of the clock's
time.)
SEE ALSO
Commands: xntpd(8), xntpdc(8)
ntptrace(8)
