NTP-Pool

The project NTP pool is a dynamic collection of time servers, which provides free and open to all the current time via NTP (Network Time Protocol ) on the Internet.

Infrastructure

The computers in the pool are part of the pool.ntp.org hostnames and the various sub-domains, which are named after geographical zones. They are made ​​available to NTP clients via round-robin DNS.

End of March 2011, there were approximately 2,100 active time server integrated into the project - of which only around 1390 in Europe, but only 12 in Africa. Since the project is decentralized, it is not possible to give precise information on the number of clients. On the website of the project, the number is estimated at 5 to 15 million.

But there is still a need for additional time servers in the pool, since it also decreases the load of each server. Particularly in Africa and many Asian countries, there are still too few servers. To be included in the pool, have a broadband Internet connection, a static IP address, and the exact time of a different data source requirement.

The project was initiated by Adrian von Bidder in 2003 and will continue in July 2005 by Ask Bjørn Hansen.

Use of the pool as a client

Since it can not be ruled out that you get assigned to a distant server, choosing a local pool is recommended. In addition, four servers should be selected so as not to be subject to bad servers. For computers in Germany, the following configuration is recommended:

Server 0.de.pool.ntp.org server 1.de.pool.ntp.org server 2.de.pool.ntp.org server 3.de.pool.ntp.org For most countries, such pools exist (eg for Austria and Switzerland, where one should replace the de by at or ch), in some countries, but are not enough servers available, so you should avoid swimming pools for the continents ( for example, eu ).