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I've set up a local NTP server on Debian. In ntp.conf I configured pool.ntp.org as the NTP server(s) to sync time with and my local subnet broadcast IP for my NTP server. The local NTP server works great, but I have issues with time zones: device time zones are off depending how I initially configured them.

Is there a way how for example add info about time zone in ntp.conf file or some other way how to present time zone information in NTP?

Or are time zones only configurable manually? As far as I know, NTP only has UTC info and that's it. I don't have that many devices, but it would be quite frustrating to manually configure 500 servers, for example.

Paul Gear
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Jon
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1 Answers1

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No. NTP is a UTC based reference.

As for configuring time zone on lots of hosts, use your favorite configuration management system. Ansible has a timezone module for example, but there are many other solutions. Or don't set it, and rely on applications and user preferences to pick local time.

John Mahowald
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  • Whats the point of all these ntp.pool servers then, if they all pass one UTC standart time? – Jon Aug 30 '17 at 14:47
  • Local time zone always is defined on local machine. UTC is used for synchronization NTP servers at different geographic locations. You can define one local time zone in your local network via DHCP option. – Mikhail Khirgiy Aug 30 '17 at 15:59
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    pool.ntp.org and other time services have clients that are anyone anywhere in the world, so they cannot tell your time zone. They have done their job of providing a time reference, your choice if the local convention is to offset it for local time. – John Mahowald Aug 31 '17 at 13:38