Find my time server.

Is there a command to find out which one of our servers is running as the
time server. All the DC's are Windows 2003.

each DC in any AD is a time server for the users/computers the DCs
authenticate. However, the forest root domain contains ONE DC that must be
manually configured (or through WMI in a GPO) with an external time source.
That DC is the DC that hosts the PDC FSMO role. To find the PDC FSMO, or
other FSMOs in ANY AD domain: NETDOM QUERY FSMO

--

Cheers,
(HOPEFULLY THIS INFORMATION HELPS YOU!)

# Jorge de Almeida Pinto # MVP Identity & Access - Directory Services #

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"SEgerton" <SEgerton@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0BB582DA-62ED-4B46-8196-7BD21D426648@microsoft.com...
> Is there a command to find out which one of our servers is running as the
> time server. All the DC's are Windows 2003.

All the clients in AD find their time from a DC within their site, in most
cases it is the authenticating dc but that isn't a for sure. The clients by
default will talk ro a dc and no special configuration on the administrators
part is required. The one machine that does require special configuration
is the PDCe fsmo master, this is the time keeper for the domain.

To find out which dc holds this role, from a command prompt key in:
netdom query fsmo

To configure a time server (PDCe in most cases):
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;816042

--
Paul Bergson
MVP - Directory Services
MCTS, MCT, MCSE, MCSA, Security+, BS CSci
2008, 2003, 2000 (Early Achiever), NT4

http://www.pbbergs.com

Please no e-mails, any questions should be posted in the NewsGroup This
posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
"SEgerton" <SEgerton@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0BB582DA-62ED-4B46-8196-7BD21D426648@microsoft.com...
> Is there a command to find out which one of our servers is running as the
> time server. All the DC's are Windows 2003.

Hello SEgerton,

The DC with the PDCemulator role is the time source in the domain. You can
use this command to configure the PDCEmulator to an external time source:

w32tm /config /manualpeerlist:peers /syncfromflags:manual /reliable:yes /update

With "peers" you can set the time source, either DNS name (time.windows.com)
or an ip address from a reliable time source.

Here you can find some of them:
http://www.pool.ntp.org/


Best regards

Meinolf Weber
Disclaimer: This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers
no rights.
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> Is there a command to find out which one of our servers is running as
> the time server. All the DC's are Windows 2003.
>

Hi
-Restart the Time service.

-If the PDC master is configured to synchronize with itself, the following
events are logged in the System log:
Event Type: Information
Event Source: W32Time
Event Category: None
Event ID: 38
Computer: ComputerName
Description: The time provider NtpClient cannot reach or is currently
receiving invalid time data from NTP_server_IP_Address. For more
information, see Help and Support Center at http://support.microsoft.com.

Event Type: Warning
Event Source: W32Time
Event Category: None
Event ID: 47
Computer: ComputerName
Description: Time Provider NtpClient: No valid response has been received
from manually configured peer NTP_server_IP_Address after 8 attempts to
contact it. This peer will be discarded as a time source and NtpClient will
attempt to discover a new peer with this DNS name. For more information, see
Help and Support Center at http://support.microsoft.com.

Event Type: Error
Event Source: W32Time
Event Category: None
Event ID: 29
Computer: ComputerName
Description: The time provider NtpClient is configured to acquire time from
one or more time sources, however none of the sources are currently
accessible. No attempt to contact a source will be made for 15 minutes.
NtpClient has no source of accurate time. For more information, see Help and
Support Center at http://support.microsoft.com.

When the PDC master runs without using an external time source, the
following event is logged in the Application log:
Time Provider NtpClient: This machine is configured to use the domain
hierarchy to determine its time source, but it is the PDC emulator for the
domain at the root of the forest, so there is no machine above it in the
domain hierarchy to use as a time source. It is recommended that you either
configure a reliable time service in the root domain, or manually configure
the PDC to synchronize with an external time source. Otherwise, this machine
will function as the authoritative time source in the domain hierarchy. If
an external time source is not configured or used for this computer, you may
choose to disable the NtpClient.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/816042/
--
I hope that the information above helps you.
Have a Nice day.

Jorge Silva
MCSE, MVP Directory Services

Please no e-mails, any questions should be posted in the NewsGroup
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
"SEgerton" <SEgerton@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0BB582DA-62ED-4B46-8196-7BD21D426648@microsoft.com...
> Is there a command to find out which one of our servers is running as the
> time server. All the DC's are Windows 2003.