NTP.MARKYATE.NET
Most of the time we each glance at a watch or clock and are happy to use the approximate time we see there. Rarely are we concerned about the exact time in our daily lives. Computers though are very different! If machines can't agree what time it is then mails can arrive before they've left! And maintaining a comparative log of what happens across a group of machines becomes impossible if they don't agree what time it is.
To solve this problem, NTP - The Network Time Protocol - was created in 2003. Sources such as atomic clocks are then used to distribute the time around the internet and are known as "stratum 1" because they are directly connected to such reference sources and are therefore at the 'top' of the time server organisation.
Other time servers then receive the time from servers 'above' them in the heirarchy, so a stratum 2 time server receives the time from one or more stratum 1 time servers. A "Stratum 2" time server isn't significantly less accurate than a stratum 1 time server, indeed even a "stratum 10" keeps accurate time for the vasy majority of uses.
Because there seemed to be few high-quality time servers currently available in the UK I created ntp.markyate.net as a stratum 2 network time source, and its availability has been donated to the UK ntp pool.
ntp.markyate.net
This timeserver runs on a dedicated machine; other than a couple of web pages (including this one) it does nothing else except keep very accurate time. The operating system is FreeBSD 8.0 and the computer is an NEI network engine. The status of the server is monitored:
NTP Server Pool
"The Pool" is, indeed, the best way to get your time check as it automatically ensures that you get use of an accurate time source without the possibility of the network link to an individual server going down. As such if you are using NTP to set your own machines' clocks then use of the pool is your solution. Information on using it can be found at http://www.pool.ntp.org/. There are currently 1779 time servers which are members of the pool world-wide, most volunteered and operated pro bono by individuals as a service to others.
Offering your own time server to the pool
If you have a suitable machine connected permanently to the internet and with a fixed IP address then please consider making it available to others too. If you wish to use ntp.markyate.net as one of your up-stream servers on a permanent basis then refer to NTP support for the requirements and ensure you advise timelord@markyate.net before commencing use, otherwise you are liable to be marked as am abusive server and blocked!
A service from The Creative Organisation.