Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Time and date of machines connected to server

Hi folks, this might be the simplest question you've had on this forum. I've 20 clients bound to a Mac server. Thanks to the tips Linc provided everything is working great - I'm able to use all server features. How would you suggest I manage times/dates on the devices? Should they be connected to Apples time servers or the my own server? At present they're connected to Apple but sometimes show different times (possibly due to waking after sleep etc).

Messages-OTHER, OS X Server

Posted on Aug 25, 2015 8:08 AM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Aug 26, 2015 2:19 AM

If all the Macs have Internet connectivity then they should all be able to directly sync their clocks to Apple's servers. If your servers are syncing to the same Apple servers then both your client computers and servers should be pretty much all in sync.


It used to be that older versions of OS X did not automatically sync - or at least not very well e.g. Snow Leopard but this does seem to work ok on newer versions.


Saying all of the above, in enterprise environments which typically means Active Directory the usual practice is to have all clients sync their clocks to the AD servers and this is normally automatically setup as part of binding a client computer to an AD server. While Apple do automatically set OD Replica servers to sync their clocks to the OD Master Apple do not set clients to sync their clocks to the OD Master when they bind.


So, it might be worth thinking about doing this as part of your computer configuration process. For example I use DeployStudio to build new Macs and as part of this set the Macs network time server to my OD Master.


You might need to make a small modification to your OD Masters /etc/ntp-restrict.conf file


See OS X Server as NTP server

and https://macmule.com/2013/12/15/how-to-use-osx-server-as-a-time-server/


I have two networks, a normal one with Internet connectivity, and a second one without Internet connectivity. As the first of the two above articles discusses this requires additional steps to trick the NTP server in to working. For most people the second article should be sufficient.

2 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Aug 26, 2015 2:19 AM in response to limavadyhigh

If all the Macs have Internet connectivity then they should all be able to directly sync their clocks to Apple's servers. If your servers are syncing to the same Apple servers then both your client computers and servers should be pretty much all in sync.


It used to be that older versions of OS X did not automatically sync - or at least not very well e.g. Snow Leopard but this does seem to work ok on newer versions.


Saying all of the above, in enterprise environments which typically means Active Directory the usual practice is to have all clients sync their clocks to the AD servers and this is normally automatically setup as part of binding a client computer to an AD server. While Apple do automatically set OD Replica servers to sync their clocks to the OD Master Apple do not set clients to sync their clocks to the OD Master when they bind.


So, it might be worth thinking about doing this as part of your computer configuration process. For example I use DeployStudio to build new Macs and as part of this set the Macs network time server to my OD Master.


You might need to make a small modification to your OD Masters /etc/ntp-restrict.conf file


See OS X Server as NTP server

and https://macmule.com/2013/12/15/how-to-use-osx-server-as-a-time-server/


I have two networks, a normal one with Internet connectivity, and a second one without Internet connectivity. As the first of the two above articles discusses this requires additional steps to trick the NTP server in to working. For most people the second article should be sufficient.

Time and date of machines connected to server

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.