TIME SERVER
This system provides time services through the Network Time Protocol (NTP). It is a Truetime (now Symmetricom) NTS-200 installed in May 2003. (We previously provided NTP service using a shared server synchronized over the Internet.) The NTS-200 derives the time from Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites and provides greater accuracy, reliability, and can serve more clients without impacting other services.
As long as the server is tracking at least one GPS satellite it will synchronize to the satellite's atomic clock and internally maintain time to within less than 5 microseconds, classing it as a stratum-1 time server. (Time synchronization through NTP is generally within less than 10 milliseconds.)
The time server is available at time.uky.edu.
Setting the clock on your desktop machine
Most current computer systems include a provision for setting the local clock from an NTP server. Some examples:
For Mac OS X go to System Preferences > Date & Time > Date & Time and check the "set date and time automatically" box and set the server name to time.uky.edu. Verify that everything is correct and your clock is set. (On older versions of Max OS X go to System Preferences > Date & Time > Network Time and set the server name to time.uky.edu. Check the "Use a network time server" box. Click the "Set Time Now" button to verify that everything is correct and set your clock.) Also be sure that your time zone is set correctly.
Other Unix and Linux systems have similar features.
For Windows an application called Winsync is available to synchronize the clock with the time server. (Windows XP has built-in support for time synchronization, but it isn't compatible with standard time servers.) This hasn't been tested with Windows Vista or Windows 7.
More information
- Official U.S. Time
- Time and Frequency Division, NIST
- Time Service Department, US Naval Observatory
- Navstar Global Positioning System Joint Program Office
- Symmetricom
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