Re: xntp3 on Alpha (Multia UDB)

[Michal Jaegermann <michal ellpspace math ualberta ca>]

Brian Candler wrote:
> 
> 
> The system time was drifting anyway (which is why I installed xntp), perhaps
> by as much as a few minutes per week, although I didn't measure it. The box
> has a very low load.
> 
> Is this a limitation of the Noname motherboard? Or is there some kernel
> tweak I can do to make the clock run more accurately?

I do not have an experience with your xntp.  It sounds from your
description that basically it is working.  It is NOT supposed to change
your system time fast but to adjust it gradually in small steps.

A clock on your board may have a significant drift.  This is a "feature"
of a particular piece of hardware and other Noname board may have this
drift much smaller (or bigger) and/or in a different direction.
OTOH 'man hwclock' has a lengthy discussion about how to "tune" your
system clock in software to account for a systematic error.

If you want to experiment with more precise clocks than Ulrich Windl
has something called PPSkit (a series of kernel patches for clock
handling in a kernel).  I do not have at the moment a URL for it
but it should not be hard to find on the net.  I did not check if
his changes were adopted in later kernels.

   Michal