Can someone explain to me the difference between the /etc/ntp.conf file and the /etc/ntp/step-tickers file? (I'm specifically referring to RHEL distros, although I know they exist in others as well.) I thought this would be a fairly easy thing to find via Google, but I've found some conflicting explanations.

My understanding is that ntpd reads the /etc/ntp.conf file when starting up to determine the servers with which to sync, the location of the drift file, etc. If that is the case, where does step-tickers come into play?

Would anyone be able to offer me a brief explanation... or point me in the direction of some reliable reading material?

Thanks!

step-tickers is used by ntpdate where as ntp.conf is the configuration file for the ntpd daemon. ntpdate is initially run to set the clock before ntpd to make sure time is within 1000 sec. ntp will not run if the time difference between the server and client by more then 1000 sec ( or there about). The start up script will read step-tickers for servers to be polled by ntpdate.

This function is built into the current version of ntp so ntpdate is really deprecated.

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Thanks for sharing. I am very confused about the file /etc/ntp/step-tickers. IN linux /etc/init.d/ntpd script reads it and depending on that it calls ntpdate on the servers in the file. I have done a plethora of experiments deleting and adding new servers in the /etc/ntp.conf file with the hope that ntpd will modify the step-tickers but it did not. Do you have any idea how and modify the file?

Have you tried editing the step-tickers file directly?

@michaelk - Thank you very much. That makes perfect sense, and is exactly what I wanted to know.

@jantanik - I don't believe the two files are linked in any way. As michaelk indicated, you have to edit them separately. The step-tickers file should just have a plain list of the servers referenced in your ntp.conf file.

No, I don't tried to edit the step-ticker file directly. I thought that ntpd will modify the step-tickers.