NTP is a mechanism by which systems on a network try to get as close as possible to the correct time.
NTP operates in a hierarchy called strata , ranging from 1 to 15, (1 = most reliable), normally connected to a time reference source (such as GPS signal, referred to as stratum-0 ).
NTP uses UDP port 123 for communication.
A server copies /etc/inet/ntp.server to /etc/inet/ntp.conf and a client copies /etc/inet/ntp.client .
xntpd and is started at boot time by /etc/rc2.d/S74xntpd . /etc/inet/ntp.conf determines whether the system is a server or a client. xntpd starts only if /etc/inet/ntp.conf exists.
Use ntpq to query other peer NTP servers on the network and xntpdc to query xntpd .
Errors go to /var/adm/messages . Use snoop to capture network packets.
