Synchronizing Time with NTP

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Synchronizing Time with NTP

Synchronizing time with other servers can benefit an organization, allowing for better coordination of log files and helping with time-sensitive services like authentication. In this hands-on lab, we will be deploying a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server to use both an Internet NTP server and a peer NTP server on a subnet.

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Lab Info

Level

Intermediate

Last updated

Sep 02, 2025

Duration

15m

Challenge

Install the ntp Software Package
Start an interactive root shell with sudo -i. Using the yum command, install the ntp software package.
```
sudo -i
yum -y install ntp
```
Challenge

Configure the ntpd.service by Updating /etc/ntp.conf
Use an editor to add the following lines to /etc/ntp.conf:
```
restrict 10.0.5.20
peer 10.0.5.20
server 169.254.169.123 iburst
```
Remove or comment out any other lines that start with "server".
Challenge

Enable and Start the ntpd.service
Using systemctl, enable and start the ntpd.service immediately:
```
systemctl enable ntpd.service --now
```
Challenge

Verify NTP Is Working Correctly
Check the status of the ntpd.service to make sure it is running. Using the ntpq command, view the current state of synchronization:
```
systemctl status ntpd.service
ntpq -c peers
```

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