They need something more sophisticated, like dedicated NTP clients that sync to the time server directly. So, you don’t want to use this method to sync the clock on stock trading workstations, for example. Although a properly configured time service will be very accurate, the precision of the time on clients can vary.
It is interesting to note that Windows doesn’t really care if the time on the domain is CORRECT, just IN SYNC (within a very generous tolerance).
This service works fine for Kerberos (which is the primary reason we like to keep clients in sync).
#Set pdc to external time source how to
I will show you how to properly configure time services for your Windows domain. Well, this morning, we had a problem with one of our time servers which reminded me about this topic. This is an article that I’ve been meaning to write for some time now, but always forgot. Besides, performing the settings in the registry ensures that the settings will persist, even if GPs fail to apply for some reason. As such, there really is no reason to set Group Policy (well, you could for the PDC DC, but I think it’s kinda ridiculous to set up a complex GP for only one machine). The only real configuration you need for a ‘typical’ time sync setup is for the DC with the PDC emulator role. It’s because the time policies are only useful if you’re doing some type of non-standard configuration. Some of you have asked why that is (especially since I’m such a big fan of management via GPOs). Update: If you read this article, you’ll note that there is no mention of Group Policy.