Smallest NTP server
 

I've should synchronize my LAN. Problem is that I have to this a quite powerless box - Dell Gn+ P200MHz MMX with 64MByte RAM, which have also quite high load (message concentration from several channels, and synchronize end points to his own clock). I've a /uBlox GPS as time source. Which NTP server to choose, what using the less resources. I'm using Debian stbale 3.1 and the easiest way to use "debianized" packages: chrony, simple NTP and BSD NTP.

May be, the best solution for me, periodically (every day) get the time from GPS, simply set timer of my box and others would get time from time or daytime service through inetd (box does not connected to internet anyway). I do not need to high precise clock - some seconds would be enough.
But of course the NTP would be a more professional solution ...

how would you expect any ntp server to use any resources worth mentioning? even with 100 machines connecting to it, the server would typically only recieve an ntp request once every 10 seconds once the clients settle down...

acid_kewpie - thanks to your reply, but my english also as worth as my box. The LAN what should be served about 12 boxes. I'm not afraid about requests but the memory consuption - 64 MByte total and free about 10 MByte! Also, I've should using interface to connect GPS. I look through some descriptions about NTP servers are listed. all of them seem to be quite complex, with a lot of configuring to do, but no information about memory consuption or resources are used. I wait suggetions from guys who look on thaose NTP servers in live, I only heard about them, and don't have time to try all of them

Alot of modern routers are capable of being an NTP source (as well as other things such as DHCP), do you have a router that is capable ?

Just a thought.

I do not have apropriate router. The preferrable place for NTP is in this box - it is working like a kind router/gateway - I called it as "concentrator". This box collecting messages from several hundreds of equipment, and those equipment are also synchromized with this box, which is made by underlying protocol automatically (or may be nested).

i just don't think you have a thing to be concerned about. ntp is a tiny thing in all respects other than importance... only issue i would think of is that the box it is running on itsel fneeds a solid and reliable clock to minimize additional drift.

Thanks acid_kewpie
In this case I should ask, which is the NTP servers simplest to setup from the list above, for using with using a stand alone GPS module?

i'm only really familiar with ntpd, didn't ever think that other ntp servers would really exist... does the job fine and is standard on nearly all linux distros

OK!
I will try it first. I thing ntpd is the "simple NTP" from my list;o)

OpenNTPD is quite small, much smaller than ISC NTPd. There is a portable version of the source code for Linux.

You can see that the goals are mostly about security and simplicity. The man page for ntp.conf is very simple. The only options you would need are sensor (to tell it which device is your GPS) and listen on to tell it which IP addresses to accept queries on. That's it!

You can use a simple script to start the service:

Good!
I live devils!
Debian called this version openntpd - and mark as open BSD version.