NetWare 4.1/9000 Concepts

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NetWare Glossary
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Reference time servers may be synchronized with an external time source, such
as a radio clock.
Reference time servers “vote” with other Primary or Reference time servers to
determine what the common network time should be.
However, Reference time servers do not adjust their internal clocks; instead, the
Primary servers’ internal clocks are adjusted to synchronize with the Reference
time server.
Therefore, a Reference time server acts as a central point to set network time.
Eventually, all Primary time servers will adjust their clocks to agree with a
Reference time server.
The following figure shows a Reference time server synchronized to an external
clock. The Reference time server, in turn, provides time to its own secondary
servers and workstations, as well as to the Primary time server at another
location.
Figure 1-48 Reference time server
Use a Reference time server when it is important to have a central point to
control time on the network. Usually, only one Reference time server is installed
on a network.
You can use more than one Reference time server on a network, but you must
synchronize each Reference time server with an external time source, such as a
radio clock.
Los Angeles
Secondary servers
and clients
Primary
time server
New York
Secondary servers
and clients
Reference
time server
External
time source
such as a
radio clock