How to Set Up a Time Server

NTP stands for Network Time Protocol, and it can be configured on a number of different types of servers. The benefit of an NTP server is that all the computers, regardless of the operating system, can synchronize their time with it, ensuring the time is the same across your network.Many components, like ones that log onto a Windows 2000 server, require the time to be synchronized. If it is not, the server might consider a valid login request to be an intrusion.NTP uses UTC, or Coordinated Universal Time, which is based on an atomic time scale. This time scale does not depend on your time zone or country.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Windows 2003 Server
• External time source

1. Configure Windows Server 2003 to be a time server using an external source for time. Open a command prompt by clicking on "Start," then "Run." Type “cmd” and press Enter or click on “OK.”

2. Type the following in the command prompt, omitting the quotes:“w32tm /config /syncfromflags:manual /manualpeerlist:list”List is a file that contains a list of DNS names or IP addresses of the time sources you want to use. It is a comma-separated list.

3. Type in, without the quotes:“w32tm /config /reliable:YES”This command tells the server to tell other systems on your network that it is a reliable time server.

4. Tell the server to execute the changes that you just made:“w32tm /config /update”

5. Exit the command prompt. Type “exit” and press Enter.

6. Set up Windows Server 2003 to provide its time as the network time. Click "Start," then "Run." Type in “regedit” and click "OK" or press Enter.

7. In the left-side pane, locate and left-click the registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\W32Time\TimeProviders\NtpClient

8. In the right-side pane, right-click “Enabled,” then left-click “Modify.” A dialog box will appear.

9. Enter a “0” under “Value Data” in the Edit DWORD Value area, and click "OK."

10. Click "File," then "Exit."

11. Open a command prompt by clicking on "Start," then "Run." Type in “cmd” and press Enter or click on “OK.”

12. Enter the following in the command prompt window:“w32tm /config /reliable:YES”This command tells the server to tell other systems on your network that it is a reliable time server.

13. Reset the Windows Time service as a server only. To do this, enter the following command, ignoring quotes, and press Enter:“net stop w32time && net start w32time”

14. Type “Exit” and press Enter to close your command prompt.

Tips & Warnings

• Manually changing the registry can result in damage to your operating system installation. Ensure you are comfortable with editing the registry beforehand.